^-^ 


I  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY,  | 
f  Princeton,  N.  J.  f 

t  f 

J  From  the  PUBLISHER.  ^ 

'"    BV  4915  .F67  1848 
Ford,  David  Everard. 
Decapolis;  or.  The 
individual  obligation  of 


rs 


DECAPOLIS; 


THE   INDIVIDUAL   OBLIGATION    OF    CHRISTIANS  TO 
SAVE    SOULS    FROM    DEATH  : 


AN  ESSAY, 

DAVID    EVERARD    FORD. 


"Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Go  home  to  thy  friends,  and  tell  them  how 
jreat  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  thee,  and  hath  had  compassion 
on  thee.  And  he  departed,  and  began  to  publish  in  Decapolis,  how 
great  things  Jesus  had  done  for  him ;  and  all  men  did  marvel."— 
Mark,  v.  IB,  so. 


FIFTH  AMERICAN 
FROM    THE    SIXTH     LONDON    EDITION. 


NEW  YORK: 
ROBERT  CARTER,  58  CANAL  STREET, 

1S46. 


PREFACE 


Whatever  reception  may  await  this  book 
at  the  hands  of  the  religious  pubhc,  it  is  my 
consolation/to  know  that  the  views  which  it 
advocates  have  been  owned  of  God  to  the 
salvation  of  many  souls. 

This  is  my  only  apology  for  a  style  which 
may  seem  in  some  instances  to  savor  of  dog- 
matism. I  have  no  wish  to  cast  one  unkind 
reflection  on  brethren  who  differ  from  me ;  to 
our  Master  we  stand  or  fall :  but  I  must  ex- 
press myself  strongly,  for  I  speak  that  which 
I  know,  and  testify  that  which  I  have  seen. 

I  have  written  for  Christians.  Should  my 
remarks  awaken  attention,  they  will  fall  into 
the  hands  of  many  who  have  no  right  to  that 
holy  name.  A  previous  question  demands 
their  notice,  a  question  to  which  every  other 
ought  to  be  postponec,    nd  from  which  I 


PREFACE. 


would  be  among  the  last  to  divert  them  for 
one  moment — the  question  of  the  Philippian 
jailer  to  Paul  and  Silas — "  What  must  I  do 
to  be  saved  1" 

And  who  are  Christians?  The  disciples 
of  Christ ;  men  who  have  given  their  hearts 
to  God,  and,  on  the  ground  of  the  great  sac- 
rifice for  sin,  have  consecrated  their  bodies, 
souls,  and  spirits,  to  the  service  and  glory  of 
their  Creator  and  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One 
of  Israel. 

To  such,  the  following  observations  are 
addressed.  Brethren  !  suffer  the  word  of  ex- 
hortation. Soon  we  must  give  an  account  of 
our  stewardship,  and,  in  the  presence  of  Him 
who  redeemed  us  unto  God  by  his  blood, 
narrate  the  efforts  we  have  made  to  secure 
and  extend  the  blessings  of  that  atonement 
in  the  world  where  he  labored,  and  for  which 
he  died.  The  Lord  grant  that  we  may  find 
mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day ! 

D.  E.  F. 

Lymington,  May  29,  1840. 


DECAPOLIS 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  apostles  have  now  rested  from  their 
labors  nearly  eighteen  centuries.  Were  they 
to  return  to  earth  again,  would  they  find  the 
world,  would  they  find  even  the  church,  in 
that  condition  in  which  they  expected  it  to  be 
eighteen  hundred  years  after  their  decease  ? 

We  have  no  right  to  evade  this  question,  or 
to  answer  it  in  the  affirmative,  on  the  ground 
of  their  inspiration  :  first,  because  we  are  not 
quite  sure  that  it  was  given  them  "  to  know 
the  times"  or  "  the  seasons"  ( Acts  i.  7) ;  and, 
next,  because  knowledge  derived  from  such  a 
source,  having  no  connexion  whatever  with 
human  calculation  and  forethought,  would  not 
bear  on  the  present  inquiry.  The  question 
before  us  can  only  be  entertained  while  we 
5 


6  STATE  OF  RELIGION 

speak  after  the  manner  of  men,  and  regard  the 
apostles,  in  the  absence  of  direct  information 
from  heaven,  as  forming  their  opinions  of  the 
future,  as  we  are  accustomed  to  form  them, 
according  to  appearances  and  probabilities. 
Make,  then,  every  reasonable  allowance  for  the 
discouraging  matters  with  which  they  were 
undoubtedly  acquainted ;  give  all  possible 
weight  to  the  prediction  of  "  a  falling  away 
first,"  and  the  revelation  of  the  man  of  sin  (2 
Thess.  ii.  3) ;  bear  in  mind  that  they  testified 
by  the  Spirit  that  in  the  last  days  perilous 
times  should  come  (2  Tim.  iii.  1),  and  tbat 
scoffers  should  walk  after  their  own  lusts,  say- 
ing, "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?" 
(2  Pet.  iii.  4) ;  yet  can  we  imagine  that  the 
church  of  the  nineteenth  century  would  be 
found  to  answer  the  expectations  which,  with 
all  these  deductions,  they  would  indulge,  and 
which  the  successes  of  their  own  short  and 
brilliant  career  abundantly  justified  ? 

But  apart  from  all  conjecture  as  to  their  ex- 
pectations, does  the  present  state  of  religion 
answer  our  own  ?  Our  notion  of  excellence 
is  probably  too  defective,  and  our  conception 
of  eminent  piety  too  low,  to  enable  us  readily 
to  detect  and  expose  all  the  evils  over  v  hich 


m  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  7 

an  apostle  would  mourn  ;  still  we  may  discern 
enough  to  excite  our  bitter  lamentation.  The 
man  who  can  read  the  New  Testament,  and 
maintain  that  the  religion  which  it  teaches  is 
now  in  the  position  in  which  it  ought  to  be,  or 
in  the  position  in  which  ere  now  it  would  have 
been,  if  the  servants  of  Christ  in  former  ages 
had  been  faithful  to  his  claims,  has  little  in- 
formation, or  less  piety,  and  is  probably  one  of 
the  innumerable  victims  now  on  their  way  to 
perdition,  or  already  there,  who  may  charge  the 
loss  of  their  souls  to  the  apathy  of  the  church, 
and  whose  blood  will  be  required  at  the  watch- 
man's hand  (Ezek.  xxxiii,  6). 

To  evade  the  fearful  responsibility  which 
such  a  statement  involves,  some  have  gravely 
questioned  whether  salvation  by  Christ  was 
ever  intended  to  be  good  tidings  of  great  joy 
"  to  all  people,"  while  others  have  referred  the 
whole  matter  to  the  sovereignty  of  God,  and 
have  assigned  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  past 
and  present  state  of  things  among  us,  that  the 
time  to  favor  Zion  is  not  yet  come.  How  far 
these  opinions  are  tenable,  it  is  the  design  of 
some  of  the  following  pages  to  inquire.  My 
own  conviction  is,  that  they  savor  less  of  piety 
thz^.  of  indolence,  and  that  they  find  no  sane- 


8  STATE    OF    RELIGION" 

tion  in  divine  revelation.  "  Thus  speaketh  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  saying,  This  people  say,  The 
time  is  not  come,  the  time  that  the  Lord's 
house  should  be  built.  Is  it  time,  O  ye,  to 
dwell  in  your  ceiled  houses,  and  this  house  of 
mine  to  lie  waste  ?"     (Haggai  i.  2,  4.) 

Admitting  that  the  expectations  of  the  prim- 
itive Christians  have  failed,  it  behooves  us  to 
account  for  the  failure.  Has  the  gospel  proved 
itself  unequal  to  the  task  of  overcoming  the 
prejudices  and  renewing  the  hearts  of  men  ? 
Or  has  the  Holy  Spirit,  grieved  and  disgusted 
with  human  depravity,  taken  his  flight  to  heav- 
en, leaving  the  church  to  flounder  on  amid  its 
diflEiculties  as  best  it  may  ? 

Happily,  these  are  questions  w^hich  we  are 
enabled  to  meet  with  a  decided  negative.  God 
has  not  forsaken  his  church.  The  gospel  is 
still  his  mighty  power  unto  salvation.  Chris- 
tianity shows  no  indications  of  decrepitude  or 
decay.  The  times  have  not  outgrown  it,  and 
we  are  sure  that  they  never  will.  The  dis- 
coveries of  science  have  neither  shaken  its 
evidences,  nor  superseded  its  information,  and 
we  are  sure  that  they  never  will.  While  hu- 
man misery  remains,  here  is  its  balm.  While 
piety  finds  an  asylum  upon  earth,  here  is  its 


IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.       9 

temple.  While  man  remains  a  transgressor, 
and  is  desirous  of  pardon,  here  is  the  sacrifice 
"  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world" 
(John  i.  29). 

We  may  call  a  thousand  witnesses,  men  of 
sound  judgment  and  unquestionable  veracity, 
whose  united  testimony  will  prove  the  truth  of 
these  assertions.  They  will  furnish  the  best 
possible  evidence  of  the  facts,  for  of  those  facts 
they  themselves  are  a  part.  They  know  the 
power  of  the  gospel,  for  it  has  renewed  their 
hearts.  They  can  attest  the  gracious  energy 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  he  has  sanctified  their 
souls  ;  and  amid  all  the  remaining  imperfec- 
tions of  which  they  are  deeply  conscious,  and 
from  which  they  daily  seek  deliverance,  each 
can  say,  "By  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  what  I 
am"  (1  Cor.  xv.  10). 

But  though  the  gospel  proves  itself  "  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation,  to  every  one  that 
believeth"  (Rom.  i.  16),  the  millions  do  not  be- 
lieve ;  and,  with  relation  to  the  greater  part, 
the  appalling  question  still  retains  its  force  — 
"  How  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they 
have  not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe 
in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard?  and 
how  shall  they  hsar  without  a  preacher  ?  and 


10  THE    MILITANT    CHURCH. 

how  shall  they  preach,  except  they  be  sent  ?" 
(Rom.  X.,  14,  15.)  And  to  make  the  matter 
incomparably  worse,  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion, and  the  triumphs  of  discovery  have  so  far 
outrun  the  efforts  of  the  church  to  spread  the 
gospel,  that  we  can  no  longer  follow  the  apos- 
tle in  the  challenge  with  which  he  concludes 
his  appeal  —  "I  say,  have  they  not  heard  ? 
Yes,  verily,  their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth, 
and  their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world" 
(verse  18). 

The  Captain  of  our  salvation,  when  he  as- 
cended on  high,  commissioned  the  armies  of 
the  faithful  to  subdue  all  nations  to  his  do- 
minion. For  a  season  they  attended  to  his 
orders  :  the  weapons  of  their  wafare  were 
mighty,  through  God,  to  the  pulling  down  of 
strongholds.  Nothing  could  resist  them  :  the 
fastnesses  of  ignorance,  and  the  ramparts  of 
superstition,  shared  the  fate  of  the  walls  of 
Jericho  ;  they  fell  at  the  blast  of  the  trumpet, 
and  the  hosts  of  God  had  only  to  march  on- 
ward and  take  possession.  The  fear  of  them 
fell  upon  all  nations  ;  their  enemies  submitted 
by  thousands,  almost  without  a  struggle,  and 
went  over  to  join  their  ranks  and  share  their 
triumphs.     Hell  looked  on  with  amazement, 


THE    MILITANT   CHURCH.  11 

and  the  god  of  this  world  trembled  for  his 
sceptre.  Had  they  thus  gone  on  from  con- 
quering to  conquer,  captivity  had  now  been 
captive ;  the  whole  earth  had  submitted  to  the 
King  of  Zion,  and  centuries  of  peace  and 
righteousness  had  marked  the  history  of  all 
nations.  But  they  became  contented  with 
their  conquests  ;  they  thought  they  had  done 
enough,  and  that  the  time  was  come  to  divide 
the  spoils.  Among  those  spoils  was  found 
many  a  wedge  of  gold,  many  a  goodly  Baby- 
lonish garment ;  and  there  was  no  Joshua 
there  to  demand  that  Achan's  sin  should  rest 
on  his  own  head,  and  so  the  anger  of  the  Lord 
be  turned  away  from  the  camp  of  Israel.  And 
what  is  their  position  now  ?  Many  of  their 
early  posts  have  been  abandoned  ;  some  of 
their  most  valuable  possessions  have  fallen 
again  into  the  hands  of  the  foe,  and  throughout 
the  remainder  of  the  conquered  territory  they 
have  built  themselves  garrisons  and  citadels, 
where  they  may  dwell  at  ease,  and  sing  "  How 
goodly  are  thy  tents.  O  Jacob,  and  thy  taberna- 
cles, O  Israel !"  They  have  boasted,  and  not 
without  reason,  that  they  have  for  their  defence 
the  munition  of  rocks,  and  that  beneath  are 
everlasting  arms.     They  glory  in  iL"  tho"--hl 


12  AWFUL    FACTS. 

that  their  bulwarks  are  impregnable,  and  that 
the  gates  of  hell  have  assaulted  them  in  vain. 
But  these  walls  of  strength  they  have  made 
their  prison.  They  have  dwelt  in  their  garri- 
sons, and  have  contented  themselves  with  gar- 
rison duty.  Constant  on  parade,  they  have  had 
their  reviews  and  their  field-days  ;  and  the 
world,  the  world  in  rebellion  against  God  — 
the  world  which  they  were  commanded  to 
subdue  to  the  sceptre  of  Christ  —  that  world 
has  stood  by,  admiring  the  correctness  of  their 
movements,  the  splendor  of  their  uniforms,  and 
the  polish  of  their  arms. 

Enough  of  figures  ;  we  come  to  facts.  Is 
it  not  a  fact,  that  Christians  are  dwelling  at 
ease,  while  myriads  around  them  are  perishing 
in  ignorance  and  sin  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact,  that 
no  aggressive  movement,  worthy  of  the  cause 
of  God,  has  been  made  for  ages  ?  Is  it  not  a 
fact,  that  though  the  church  has  long  been 
praying  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  it  has 
never  yet  put  forth  an  effort  of  which  it  could 
entertain  a  hope  that  God  would  prosper  it  to 
that  end  ? 

I  make  these  statements  w?.th  no  view  to  de- 
preciate the  amount  of  good  which  has  really 
been  accomplished.     In  the  success  which 


THE    HEATHE5r    WORLD.  13 

has  recently  attended  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  most  heartily 
do  I  rejoice.  I  am  even  prepared  to  admit, 
that  at  no  former  period  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  have  equal  exertions  been  made  to 
spread  the  knowledge  of  salvation  ;  and  that, 
in  proportion  to  their  extent,  they  have  been 
crowned  with  a  large  measure  of  success. 
Still,  some  melancholy  facts  not  only  mark  the 
history  of  the  past,  but  throw  their  dark  shad- 
ows over  the  future.  The  church  has  slum- 
bered for  ages,  and  is  now  only  half  awake. 
"Watchman,  what  of  the  night?  Watchman, 
what  of  the  night  ?"  is  an  inquiry  which  beto- 
kens incipient  consciousness  ;  but  the  answer 
falls  unheeded,  or  surely  the  church  would 
never  sleep  again.  "  The  morning  cometh, 
and  also  the  night"  (Isa.  xxi.  12). 

"  The  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the 
habitations  of  cruelty,"  and  it  is  impossible  for 
the  most  enlightened  mind  to  entertain  any- 
thing like  a  correct  apprehension  of  ihe  igno- 
rance, and  crime,  and  misery,  with  which  the 
world  abounds.  Many  hundred  millions  of 
human  beings,  indeed,  by  far  the  greater  por- 
tion of  the  entire  race,  are  enduring  all  the 
evils  which  sin  has  entailed  on  my  n  kind,  with- 


14  CHRISTENDOM. 

out  the  slightest  conception  that  God  has  turned 
the  curse  into  a  blessing,  is  waiting  to  be  gTa- 
ck)us,  and  has  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give 
his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believ- 
eth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life.  The  message  of  heavenly  mercy 
has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  church  eighteen 
hundred  years,  and  three  fourths  of  the  human 
race  are  still  unconscious  that  such  a  message 
has  been  sent. 

Well  may  we  say,  as  David  did  when  Saul 
and  Jonathan  were  slain,  "  Tell  it  not  in  Gath, 
publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Askelon,  lest 
the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice,  lest 
the  daughters  of  the  uncircumcised  triumph  !'* 
But  our  silence  comes  too  late,  and  will  avail 
us  nothing  ;  it  will  not  even  conceal  our  dis- 
grace ;  the  secret  has  transpired  ;  hell  knows 
it,  and  has  blazoned  it  abroad,  to  persuade 
mankind  that  Christians  do  not  believe  the  re- 
ligion which  they  profess. 

We  leave  the  heathen  world,  and  turn  to 
Christendom  (a  name,  by-the-way,  which  no 
country  under  heaven  yet  deserves) ;  and  here 
the  view  is  sufficiently  appalling.  There  is 
probably  not  to  be  found  a  single  populous  dis- 
trict, where  Christians  bear  to  the  inhabitants 


ENGLAND.  15 

a  greater  proportion  than  one  tenth  ;  and  al- 
though a  large  deduction  may  be  made  for 
tbose  who,  in  our  estimation,  have  not  attained 
the  age  of  personal  accountableness,  the  result 
is  frightful.  Christ  has  the  few,  Satan  the 
many.  Crowds  are  sinking  into  perdition  from 
the  midst  of  our  most  Christianized  localities ; 
and  their  dying  groans  are  saying,  "  No  man 
careth  for  our  souls." 

It  is  to  be  questioned  whether  in  England, 
even  in  those  districts  where  there  is  the 
largest  proportion  of  true  godliness,  conversion 
gains  upon  population.  Let  any  one  acquaint- 
ed with  the  facts  of  our  religious  history,  and 
competent  to  form  an  opinion,  compare  one 
census  with  another,  and  say  whether  the  total 
amount  of  conversions,  among  all  denomina- 
tions, durmg  the  ten  intervening  years,  equals 
the  augmented  number  of  souls  within  that 
district ;  to  say  nothing  of  those  (not  much 
less  than  one  third  of  the  whole  surviving  pop- 
ulatic  n),  who,  during  the  interval,  have  passed 
into  eternity. 

On  the  reader  who  questions  the  correctness 
of  this  -statement,  I  would,  with  much  affection 
and  tendeyn&ss,  press  the  inquiry,  Is  he  a  com' 


16  SOULS    AHE    PERISHING. 

petent  judge  1  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God"  (John 
iii.  3).  Facts,  which  will  deeply  afflict  a  pious 
mind,  will  be  regarded  with  indifference  or  in- 
credulity by  "  the  natural  man,"  who  receives 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  to 
whom  they  are  foolishness  (1  Cor.  ii.  14). 
He  heeds  not  the  melancholy  procession  which 
throngs  the  road  to  death ;  and  the  reason  is, 
that  he  is  journeying  in  the  same  direction. 

But  are  proofs  demanded  ?  We  have  them 
in  abundance.  It  is  a  notorious  fact,  that 
thousands  among  us  are  living  in  open  profli- 
gacy, and  that  thousands  more  altogether  neg- 
lect even  the  forms  of  godliness  :  they  belong 
to  no  religious  community,  and  they  seek  none. 
Of  those  who  attend  public  worship,  a  large 
proportion  frequent  ministrations  which  have 
never  converted  one  soul,  and  never  will. 
And  of  those  who  habitually  listen  to  a  faith- 
ful and  apostolic  ministry,  vast  numbers  have 
only  a  name  to  live,  and  are  dead  (Rev.  iii.  1). 
In  all  our  sanctuaries  there  are  some,  in  most 
there  are  many,  of  whom  no  enlightened  Chris- 
tian can  entertain  a  hope  ;  and  the  only  differ- 
ence between  them  and  others  who  are  more 
openly  walking  in  the  way  o.  sinners  is,  that 


SOULS  ARE  PERISHING.  17 

they  have  found  a  by-path  to  hell  by  the  side 
of  Calvary. 

It  is  readily  admitted  that  these  appalling 
facts  are  disbelieved  by  some,  and  overlooked 
by  others,  and  that  on  few  or  none  do  they 
produce  so  deep  an  impression  as  their  fearful- 
ness  demands.  But  never,  until  they  are 
rightly  regarded,  will  there  be  a  thorough  re- 
vival in  the  church,  or  a  general  awakening  in 
the  world.  In  the  absence  of  powerful  appre- 
hensions of  the  guilt  and  danger  of  all  the 
unconverted  and  of  the  absolute  certainty  of 
everlasting  death,  sinners  will  give  themselves 
little  trouble  about  salvation,  and  Christians 
will  never  awake  to  their  awful  responsibility. 

We  may  set  it  down  as  an  ascertained  fact, 
that  until  the  terrors  of  hell  are  poured  forth 
on  the  consciences  of  men,  there  will  never  be 
a  general  reception  of  the  Gospel,  or  even  a 
strenuous  effort  for  its  propagation.  To  wel- 
come escape,  we  must  first  be  aware  of  our 
danger.  To  attempt  the  relief  of  suffering,  we 
must  first  be  assured  of  its  existence.  And, 
in  either  case,  our  efforts  will  be  proportionate 
to  our  convictions. 

This  accounts  for  the  terrific  character  of 
the  personal  ministry  of  our  Lord.     In  hii  dis- 
2* 


18  IMPORTANCE  AND  NECESSITY 

courses,  "  the  worm  that  dieth  not"  (Mark  ix. 
44),  "  the  damnation  of  hell"  (Matt  xxiii.  33), 
and  "  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels"  (chap.  xxv.  41),  are  subjects 
of  more  frequent  recurrence  ihan  in  any  ot 
the  writings  or  discourses  of  the  prophets  or 
apostles.  From  this  circumstance  we  may 
learn,  that  real  compassion  for  souls  will  in- 
duce us  to  call  awful  things  by  awful  names, 
that  "  knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,"  we 
may  "persuade  men"  (2  Cor.  v.  li),  and  save 
them  "  with  fear,  pulling  them  out  tff  tho  fire'' 
(Jude  23).  .  ^hat  is  indeed  mistaken  tenderness 
which  sooths,  as  it  nurses  for  the  flames,  the 
victims  of  the  second  death.  How  vain  the 
task  to  hoard  with  care,  and  deck  with  gold, 
the  vessel  of  wrath,  fitted  for  destruction,  and 
soon  to  be  dashed  in  pieces  ! 

And  in  order  to  extensive  usefulness,  there 
must  not  only  be  an  apprehension  that  souls 
are  perishing,  but  a  deep  and  settled  convic- 
tion that  they  deserve  to  perish.  Our  views  of 
sin,  taken  not  from  the  opinions  of  men  but 
from  the  oracles  of  truth,  must  give  a  decided 
negative  to  the  question,  "  Is  God  unrighteous 
who  taketh  vengeance  1"  (Rom.  iii.  5.)  While 
we   harbor   the  slightest  notion   that  eternal 


OF  CORRECT  VIEWS  OF  STN.  19 

death  is  too  severe  a  penalty  for  human  guilt, 
we  are  less  the  disciples  of  Christ  than  of 
Satan.  "  Ye  shall  not  surely  die"  (Gen.  iii. 
4),  was  the  insinuation  of  the  tempter  to  Eve, 
and  its  effect  was  fatal.  Its  ruinous  success 
in  that  instance,  has  occasioned  its  constant 
repetition  ever  since  ;  and  of  all  the  doctrines 
of  devils,  current  among  mankind,  this  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  popular.  But  fondly  as 
this  seiitiment  is  cherished  in  the  heart,  it  is 
doomed  to  fall  before  the  truth.  And  fall  it 
must,  as  Dagon  fell  before  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, ere  God  will  enter  in  and  dwell  there. 

Hence,  the  first  object  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
to  "  reprove  the  world  of  sin"  (John  xvi.  8). 
Whatever  the  a\vakeaed  sinner  may  think  of 
others,  he  entertains  no  doubt  that  he  himself 
deserves  eternal  death.  And  so  deeply  is  this 
conviction  wrought  upon  his  mind,  that  it  is 
often  very  difficult  to  persuade  him  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  his  salvation.  And  it  is  only  as  he 
apprehends  the  grand  design  of  the  Gospel, 
that  God  "  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of 
him  which  believeth  in  Jesus"  (Rom.  iii.  26), 
that  he  dares  to  cherish  a  hope  of  pardon.  But 
the  awakened  sinner  is  not  more  righteously 
or  more  certainly  exnosed  to  everla*  ing  death 
than  his   unawakr!,b.i    neig:hhoi.  .i-  than  the 


20  RELIGIOUS  FAVORITISM. 

whole  unconverted  world.  The  facts  are  the 
same.  The  only  difference  is,  that  by  him 
they  are  perceived,  while  by  others  they  are 
disregarded.  That  which  he  has  discovered 
by  the  light  of  truth,  the  light  of  eternity  will 
reveal  to  all. 

To  anticipate  that  fearful  disclosure,  to  warn 
the  sinner  of  the  doom  which  awaits  him,  and 
to  warn  him  now,  while  yet  there  remains  a 
way  of  escape,  is  the  sacred  obligation  of  all 
who  love  the  Lord  .lesus  Christ  in  sincerity. 
But  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  they  themselves 
believe  with  the  heart  all  the  facts  of  the 
case,  that  they  will  be  prepared  thus  to  serve 
their  generation  according  to  the  will  of  God. 
Indistinct  or  doubtful  apprehensions  of  the 
truth,  will  utterly  disqualify  us  to  become  in- 
structers  of  otif-rs.  "  If  the  trumpet  give  an 
uncertain  soun-i,  who  shall  prepare  himself  to 
the  battle?"  (1  Cor.  xiv.  8.) 

Christi?ins  often  allow  natural  affection  to 
neutialize  their  religious  convictions.  They 
admit  that  the  wrath  of  God  abides  on  the  un- 
believer, provided  always,  however,  that  the 
unbeliever  on  whom  that  wrath  shall  abide  is 
not  one  o!  their  kindred.  They  can  think  of 
the  world  ai  a  distance  as  goinfif  down  to  the 
c    TQbers  of  death,  and  lying  there  *  in  ever- 


THE  PRODIGAL  SON.  21 

tasting  chains  under  darkness  unto  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Great  day"  ( Jude  6);  but  they  shrink 
from  the  thought  when  it  comes  more  closely 
home.  It  is  an  awful  but  indisputable  fact, 
that  the  most  devoted  Christians  rarely  admit 
that  their  near  relatives  are  gone  to  hell.  Hence 
their  sincerity  is  suspected,  and  their  warnings 
are  despised.  To  show  the  correctness  of  this 
startling  assertion,  take  the  following  case  : — 
A  good  man  has  a  profligate  son  who  is  cut 
off  in  the  midst  of  his  sins.  The  last  act  of 
his  life  was  an  act  of  impiety,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  his  death  were  such  as  Solomon 
predicted.  "  He,  that  being  often  reproved 
hardeneth  his  neck,  shall  suddenly  be  destroyed, 
and  that  without  remedy"  (Prov.  xxix.  1). 
The  body  is  brought  home  to  his  father's 
house,  and  is  there  made  ready  for  the  grave. 
That  father  has  other  children,  for  whom  he 
has  often  trembled,  lest  the  contagion  of  their 
brother's  example  should  prove  their  destruc- 
tion. Now  is  the  time  to  make  an  impression 
on  their  hearts,  and  to  turn  even  the  ruin  of 
their  brother  to  a  good  account.  Imagine 
then  the  agonized  father,  taking  each  child  in 
succession  to  view  the  corpse,  and  saying, 
"  There  lies  the  body  of  your  wicked  brother. 


22  A  father's  appeal. 

His  soul  is  lost.  Take  warning  or  you  will 
follow  him.  Flee  to  Christ  at  once,  or  I  shall 
one  day  despair  of  your  salvation,  as  I  now  do 
of  his.  The  only  consolation  I  have  concern- 
ing him  is,  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  charge 
the  ruin  of  his  soul  to  me.  I  am  guiltless  of 
that  young  man's  blood.  You  know,  and  God 
knows,  that  I  warned  him  day  and  night  with 
many  tears.  I  prayed  for  him,  1  prayed  with 
him,  1  prayed  with  him  alone,  and  I  besought 
him  by  the  tender  mercies  of  God,  to  turn 
from  his  wickedness  and  live,  but  he  would 
not  hearken.  And  now,  1  own  him  for  my  son 
no  more.  Our  separation  is  final  and  eternal. 
But,  my  dear  child,  '  of  whom  I  travail  in 
birth  again,  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you' 
(Gal.  iv.  19),  must  I  also  part  with  you  ? 
Shall  all  my  hopes,  and  prayers,  and  aims,  be 
lost  ?  Shall  it  never  be  mine  to  say  before 
the  throne,  '  Here  am  I,  and  the  children 
which  God  has  given  me  V  Your  brother  has 
perished  in  his  sins.  Will  you  perish  too  ? 
Is  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  unworthy  of 
your  love  ?  He  died  for  your  salvation.  Will 
you  refuse  to  obey  him  ?  He  is  waiting  to 
pardon  your  sins.  Will  you  have  redemption 
through  his  blood  ?     He  is  waiting  to  receive 


FATAL  TENDERNESS.  23 

your  soul.  Will  you  devote  it  to  his  praise  1 
Now  is  the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation.  Hear  his  voice.  Harden  not  your 
heart.  Flee  for  refuge,  to  lay  hold  of  the  hope 
set  before  you.  And  then  I  shall  rejoice 
amid  my  sorrows,  and  say,  at  least  of  you, 
*  This  my  son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again. 
he  was  lost,  and  is  found.' "  Let  such  an 
address  be  immediately  followed  by  prayer 
suited  to  the  awful  occasion,  and  where  i?  the 
child  that  would  ever  forget  it,  or  afterward 
think  his  father's  religion  a  lie  ? 

Do  any  ask,  What  father  could  do  it  ^  I 
answer.  The  man  who  believes  his  Bible,  and 
thinks  it  bad  enough  to  have  one  child  in  hell. 
But  suppose,  ibat  insicad  of  taking  such  a 
course,  he  sparos  his  feelii>gs.  He  cHimot 
bear  to  think  that  his  child  is  lost.  He  breathes 
the  whisper  of  hope  where  facts  warrant  noth- 
ing but  despair.  And  what  is  the  result? 
One  son  says  to  himself,  "  Well.  I  am  sure 
that  my  poor  brother  was  a  great  deal  worse 
than  1  have  ever  been.  He  died  a.s  he  lived, 
and  if  he  is  gone  to  heaven,  I  need  nor  bo 
afraid  <ii  going  to  hell."  That  young  iii^  i 
takes  courage  in  his  sins,  and  from  that  day 
becomes  a  profligate.      Another  comes  to  ilie 


24  RUINOUS  CONSEQUENCES 

conclusion,  that,  with  all  his  pretence  to  piety,, 
his  father  does  not  believe  the  religixDn  whioh 
he  professes :  that  the  wrath  of  God.  and  the 
loss  of  the  soul,  are  phrases  which  have  a  place 
in  his  creed,  but  to  which  there  is  nothing, 
correspondent  in  the  true  sentiments  of  his 
heart.  He  leaps  to  the  conclusion,  that,  if  his 
father  is  a  hypocrite,  religious  men  in  general 
are  no  better ;  and  thus  the  circumstance 
which,  if  rightly  improved,  might  have  been 
God's  message  of  mercy  to  the  salvation  of 
his  soul,  seals  his  ruin.  He  becomes  an 
infidel. 

It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  this  case  is 
an  extreme  and  improbable  one,  and  that  no 
real  Christian  would  entertain  hope  of  a  child 
who  had  died  under  such  circumstances.  Per- 
haps not.  But  many  who  pass  for  Christians 
would,  and  few  would  censure  them.  Had 
they  been  in  the  place  of  David  when  Absalom 
was  slain,  instead  of  regarding  his  soul  as  lost, 
as  he  evidently  did,  they  would  have  cherished 
the  hope  that  the  interval,  "  while  he  was  yet 
in  the  midst  of  the  oak,"  was  so  employed, 
that  the  darts  of  Joab,  when  they  were  thrust 
through  his  heart,  inflicted  the  last  pang  he 
would  ever  suffer. 


OF  MISTAKEN  CHARITY.  25 

Conversion  in  the  last  extremity  of  life,  is 
the  only  hope  of  the  multitude.  It  is  the  last 
resort  of  the  impenitent,  and  Christians  have 
sanctioned  the  delusion.  Even  their  anxiety  to 
visit  the  sick  has  been  wrongly  interpreted  by 
the  world,  and  taken  to  indicate  views  of  reli- 
gion, from  which  an  enlightened  mind  would 
shrink  with  horror.  Thousands  are  of  opinion, 
that  all  that  needs  to  be  done  to  set  them  right 
for  heaven,  is  to  have  some  spiritual  adviser  tO' 
attend  their  last  hours  "  This  their  way  is. 
their  folly,  yet  theii  posterity  approve  their 
sayings."  Warm-hearted,  but  injudicious 
Christians,  have  given  it  their  sanction,  by- 
laying  great  stress  on  circumstances  which  at 
best  would  only  warrant  a  trembling  hope^ 
Sorrow  for  sin,  and  alarm  of  conscience,  prompt^ 
ed  only  by  the  near  approach  of  eternity,  have 
been  mistaken  for  conviction  and  repentance 
of  "  a  goodly  sort"  (2  Cor.  vii.  9-1 1),  and  the 
promises  of  the  gospel,  and  the  consolations 
of  Christ,  have  been  addressed  to  persons,  to 
whom  the  extent  and  spirituality  of  the  claims 
of  God,  and  the  terrors  of  his  righteous  law, 
would  have  been  subjects  far  mor6  seasonable. 

The  common  result  of  such  treatment  is,  that 
all  anxiety  is  hushed,  and  a  calm  ensues  whicb 


26  RUINOUS  CONSEQUENCES 

not  a  breath  disturbs.  The  man  has  mistaken 
remorse  for  penitence  and  vows  of  a  new 
life  for  evidence  that  he  is  a  new  creature.  All 
misgivings,  doubts,  and  fears,  are  thenceforth 
regarded  as  intrusive,  and  are  instantly  put 
away.  "  A  deceived  heart  hath  turned  him 
aside,  that  he  cannot  deliver  his  soul,  nor  say, 
Is  there  not  a  lie  in  my  right  hand  ?"  (Isa. 
xliv.  20.)  And  thus  he  leaves  the  world.  His 
supposed  conversion  and  happy  death  supply 
the  subject  of  a  funeral  sermon.  Large  num- 
bers attend,  for  the  occasion  is  an  attractive 
one.  They  wioh  tj  learn  hiw  men  may 
neglect  the  claims  of  G.ii  '.n  health  and 
strength,  and  yet  find  pe/av.e  and  joy  on  the 
arrival  of  sickness  and  d^^ath.  It  is  the  very 
tiling  which  they  most  of  all  desire.  If  they 
may  but  nc^'ect  religion  all  their  lives,  they 
have  no  objectiim  whatever  to  pay  it  their 
dying  retrard.^.  TL.ey  listen  with  approving 
atieuiion,  and  take  courage  to  trifle  a  little 
longer.  Oh,  what  a  sermon  would  they  have 
if  the  lost  soul  could  occupy  that  pulpit,  and 
tell  ih«Mi>  i^at  the  peace  which  comes  not  by 
the  hltiiid  tn'  the  cross  is  a  delusion  (Col.  i.  20), 
and  '.\t'd\  the  hope  of  the  hvpocrite  shall  perish ! 
(Job  xxvii.  8.) 


OF  MISTAKEN  CHARITY.  27 

I  am  aware  that  such  statements  as  these 
are  thought  very  uncharitable.  Be  it  so! 
Charity  to  the  dead  is  often  destruction  to  the 
living  ;  and  it  is  with  the  latter  exclusively 
that  we  have  to  do.  The  departed  cannot  be 
injured,  or  even  annoyed,  by  any  judgment 
of  ours,  however  uncharitable  ;  whereas  our 
favorable  opinion  concerning  them  may  induce 
others  to  go  and  do  likewise  —  to  trifle  with 
Christ  and  eternity  till  health  and  life  are 
almost  gone,  and  then,  when  the  world  can 
charm  no  longer,  to  compromise  matters  with 
their  Creator  as  best  they  may.  Thus,  while 
on  the  one  hand  the  indulgence  of  groundless 
hope  can  render  no  service  to  the  objects 
of  our  compassion  (now,  alas  !  too  late,  their 
state  being  unalterably  fixed  for  ever),  on  the 
other,  survivors  may  be  strengthened  in  their 
impiety,  and  the  threatenings  of  God  be  made 
"  of  none  effect." 

But  the  objection  may  be  started  :  What 
right  have  we  to  entertain  an  unfavorable 
opinion,  or  to  pronounce  judgment,  when  all 
the  evidence  we  have  is  to  the  contrary  ?  The 
answer  to  this  question  turns  upon  another : 
Is  that  evidence  satisfactory  ? 

A  pastorate  of  nearly  twenty  years  has  made 


28  A  MELANCHOLY  INSTANCE 

me  familiar  with  scenes  of  affliction.  I  can 
hardly  remember  a  case  in  which  sickness  did 
not  dispose  the  mind  to  think  seriously  of  re- 
ligion, especially  when  early  associations  had 
led  that  way.  But  how  has  it  been  with  those 
who  have  returned  to  life  again  ?  They  have 
left  their  religion  in  the  chamber  of  affliction, 
and  not  a  vestige  of  piety  has  remained  to 
attest  the  genuineness  of  their  conversion. 

I  have  seen  sinners  brought  to  God  amid 
all  the  varieties  of  Christian  experience  ;  some 
by  the  terrors  of  the  law,  others  by  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  cross  ;  some  by  a  long  and  almost 
imperceptible  process,  others,  comparatively, 
in  a  moment ;  but  scarcely  in  a  single  in- 
stance have  I  found  conversion,  or  even  real 
awakening,  dated  from  affliction.  If  ten  were 
cleansed,  where  are  the  nine  ?  "  It  has  hap- 
pened unto  them  according  to  the  true  prov- 
erb, The  dog  is  turned  to  his  own  vomit 
again,  and  the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her 
wallowing  in  the  mire"  (  2  Pet.  ii.  22).  Would 
that  piety  which  could  not  stand  the  test  of  a 
return  to  life  have  availed  the  soul  in  death  t 
Let  conscience  say. 

I  shall  never  forget  an  instance  of  disap- 
pointed hope  which  occurred  in  the  early  part 


OF    DISAPPOINTED    HOPE.  29 

of  my  career.  A  young  man  who  had  been  in- 
structed in  a  sabbath-school  as  to  the  elements 
of  religion,  but  had  never  made  any  pretension 
to  piety,  was  stricken  with  an  alarming  dis- 
ease. His  concern  about  his  soul  was  imme- 
diate and  overwhelming.  "  What  must  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?"  seemed  the  one  question  which 
absorbed  all  his  thoughts.  Those  around  him 
did  not  fail  to  expound  the  reply  of  Paul  and 
Silas  — "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
He  listened  most  intently  ;  hope  sprang  up  in 
his  soul,  and  passages  of  scripture  which  he 
had  learned  at  school,  but  which  had  till  then 
escaped  his  memory,  came  pouring  into  his 
mind  with  a  richness,  propriety,  and  consecu- 
tiveness,  truly  wonderful.  Disease  now  gained 
upon  him,  and  all  hope  of  recovery  fled.  The 
surgeon  plainly  told  him  that  nothing  more 
could  be  done,  and  that  a  few  hours  would 
terminate  his  life.  He  received  the  announce- 
ment with  perfect  composure,  and  said  that  he 
had  no  wish  to  live,  his  only  desire  was  to 
depart  and  be  with  Christ.  Inexperienced  as 
I  then  was,  had  he  died,  1  should  not  have 
entertained  a  doubt  of  his  safety.  But  the 
surgeon  was  mistaRen :  lo  the  surprise  of 
every  one,  his  recovery  was  soon  completed. 
3* 


30  A  MELANCHOLY   INSTANCE,  &C. 

He  went  to  the  house  of  God  the  first  sabbath 
he  was  able  to  walk,  and  returned  thanks  for 
his  restoration.  For  the  next  few  sabbaths 
following  he  was  there  ;  afterward  I  missed 
him.  For  sometime  I  was  unable  to  learn 
what  had  become  of  him  ;  at  last  I  ascer- 
tained that  an  act  of  gross  immorality  had 
rendered  it  expedient  for  him  to  leave  the 
neighborhood. 

After  the  lapse  of  twenty  years,  I  very  un- 
expectedly met  with  him  once  again.  During 
the  interval  he  had  become  a  hardened  sot. 
At  the  time  of  this  interview,  however,  he  was 
perfectly  sober,  but  he  appeared  to  have  for- 
gotten me.  I  reminded  him  of  his  vows  in 
affliction.  He  then  mentioned  my  name.  I 
endeavored  to  recall  his  former  impressions, 
but  the  attempt  was  hopeless  ;  his  conscience 
was  seared  as  with  a  hot  iron  :  all  I  could  get 
him  to  say  of  the  affliction  which  once  seemed 
so  hopeful,  was,  "  1  have  no  wish  to  remera- 
her  it." 


CHAPTER  II. 

Never  can  it  be  too  deeply  impressed  on 
the  minds  of  all  who  are  anxious  to  bring  sin- 
ners to  Christ,  that  health  is  the  season  of 
benefit,  as  well  as  of  usefulness.  Of  the  man 
who  amid  the  excitements  of  life  becomes 
awakened  to  an  apprehension  of  his  guilt  and 
danger,  we  may  entertain  some  reasonable 
hope  ;  but  when  cares  for  eternity  come  across 
the  mind  only  when  it  has  nothing  else  to  en- 
gage it,  the  result  is  at  best  but  doubtful.  The 
sick  demand  our  kindness,  our  sympathy,  and 
our  prayers  ;  but  if  we  wish  to  save  men's 
souls,  our  chief  attention  must  be  directed  to 
those  who  need  no  other  physician. 

Through  inattention  to  this  point,  some  of 
the  best  energies  of  the  church  have  been 
thrown  away.  Persons  in  all  diseases,  and  in 
all  stages  of  disease,  have  been  eagerly  sought 
out  with  the  benevolent  intention  of  showing 
them  the  way  to  heaven  ;  while  the  healthful 
inmates  of  the  same  dwelling  have  been  left  to 


32  VISITATION  OF  THE  SICK. 

pursue  their  own  path  to  hell  without  one 
word  of  entreaty  or  warning. 

In  many  instances  the  visitation  of  the  sick 
is  perfectly  useless.  It  is  almost  always  so  in 
fevers  and  diseases  connected  with  delirium ; 
and  in  cases  where  delirium  is  not  apparent, 
there  is  often  mental  imbecility.  I  have 
attended  persons  in  malignant  fevers,  who 
seemed  perfectly  conscious  at  the  time,  and 
exceedingly  thankful  for  my  visits,  but  who, 
on  recovery  had  not  the  slightest  recollection 
of  anything  that  had  taken  place. 

My  design,  in  these  remarks,  is  not  to  dis- 
courage attention  to  the  sick,  or  in  the  slightest 
degree  to  justify  any  in  neglecting  them,  but 
to  show  that  the  best  season  for  labor  is  not 
that  which  is  generally  selected,  and  that  time 
lost  in  health  can  seldom  be  redeemed  in  sick- 
ness. 

There  are  many,  who,  when  conscience  tells 
them  that  they  ought  to  do  something  for  the 
salvation  of  their  unconverted  neighbors,  post- 
pone their  efforts  for  affliction  to  prepare  the 
way.  The  cares  of  life,  they  think,  may  then 
more  readily  oe  iam  aside,  and  ^he  auenaon 
exclusively  directed  to  the  things  of  eternity. 
.\iid  moreover,  at  such  a  time  the  call  of  a 


SPIRITS  IN  PRISON.  33 

Christian  neighbor  for  the  express  purpose  of 
religious  conversation  will  not  be  thought  in- 
trusive. "  How  glad  I  should  be  for  my  hus- 
band to  be  seriously  ill  !"  said  a  poor  woman 
one  day,  greatly  to  my  surprise.  On  my 
asking  a  reason  for  so  strange  a  wish,  she  re- 
plied, "  O  sir,  if  he  were  ill,  somebody  would 
come  and  talk  to  him  about  his  soul."  The 
woman  was  too  ignorant  to  have  intended  it  as 
a  personal  rebuke  ;  but  may  it  not  be  tbe 
case,  that  while  we  account  it  a  matter  of  im- 
perative obligation  to  preach  Christ  to  the 
sick  and  dying,  we  rarely  say  a  word  about 
him  to  those  who  need  it  not  less  than  they  ? 

Whatever  may  be  its  cause,  the  silence  of 
Christians  is  the  undoing  of  thousands.  It 
may  be  indolence,  it  may  be  timidity,  it  msy 
be  mistaken  affection,  it  may  be  mere  procras- 
tination without  any  assignable  reason  ;  but  its 
results  are  the  same,  and  those  results  are  tre- 
mendous beyond  description. 

If  we  could  get  near  enough  to  the  prison- 
house  of  souls  (1  Pet.  iii.  19),  to  listen  to  what 
is  passing  there,  we  should  overhear  conversa- 
tions which  would  make  our  ears  to  tingle 
It  is  not  improbable  that  our  names  are  there 
associated  with  cursings  and  bitterness,  and 


34  SPIRITS  IN  PIMSON. 

that  the  ruin  of  souls  is  ascribed  to  our  negli- 
gence. We  should  hear  one  saying  to  his 
fellow-sufferer  :  "  1  had  a  Christian  neighbor 
who  lived  next  door  to  me  eighteen  years. 
He  knew  that  I  was  regardless  of  religion,  that 
1  seldom  attended  public  worship,  and  that  I 
often  made  the  holy  day  of  the  Lord  a  season 
of  worldly  pleasure,  but  he  never  reproved  my 
sin.  To  his  silence,  I  may  trace  my  ruin.  I 
remember  the  turning  point  in  my  life  :  it  was 
the  morning  of  a  bright  and  beautiful  day.  A 
friend  had  invited  me  to  an  excursion.  His 
chaise  drove  off*  with  us  at  the  moment  my 
neighbor  was  leaving  his  door  to  go  to  the 
house  of  God.  I  would  then  have  given  the 
world  to  accompany  him,  but  I  had  gone  too 
far  to  retreat.  How  well  I  remember  all  that 
passed  on  that  occasion  !  Oh,  what  a  curse  is 
memory  now  !  God  has  set  my  sins  *  in 
order'  before  mine  eyes.  There  they  are,  in  all 
their  horrible  minuteness  of  circumstance  ;  not 
a  single  aggravation  is  forgotten.  My  thoughts, 
all  that  day,  ran  on  the  account  to  which  I 
should  certainly  be  called  the  next  morning. 
I  pondered  over  the  best  excuses  that  my 
proud  heart  or  my  vain  imagination,  could 
suggest.     One  was  close  confinement  during 


SPIRITS  IN  PRISON.  35 

the  week,  and  the  necessity  of  occasional  re- 
creation for  the  benefit  of  my  heahh.  Another, 
that  the  sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not 
man  for  the  sabbath.  A  third  (and  it  was  this 
that  gave  me  greater  relief  than  either),  that 
it  was  only  for  once,  that  I  never  intended  to 
do  so  again.  Miserable  was  that  day  to  me, 
and  it  was  followed  by  a  sleepless  night.  Con- 
science would  not  suffer  me  to  slumber.  But 
that  was  the  last  time  conscience  ever  disturbed 
my  rest.  Monday  morning  came.  My  an- 
swers were  ready.  I  prepared  myself  for  the 
dreaded  interview,  and  wished  it  over.  Had 
my  neighbor  then  treated  me  with  affectionate 
fidelity,  I  had  never  gone  on  a  Sunday's  ex* 
cursion  again.  I  had  already  resolved  thit 
it  should  be  the  last  time,  and  I  wanted  an 
opportunity  of  saying  so.  Judge  then  my  as- 
tonishment, when  1  found  that  the  religious 
friend,  in  whose  eyes  I  had  fancied  myself  de- 
graded for  ever,  made  not  the  slightest  allusion 
to  the  manner  in  which  I  had  passed  the  pre- 
vious day  !  His  silence,  I  unhappily  regarded 
as  the  sanction  of  my  sin.  He  was  a  kind 
neighbor,  and  a  good  man,  and  I  could  not 
imagine  that  he  would  see  my  soul  in  peril 
without  informing  me.    Fortified  by  his  indif- 


36  THE  LOST  NEIGHBOR. 

ference,  I  reached  the  conclusion  which  has 
satisfied  thousands.  I  thought  religion  good, 
but  not  indispensable.  I  regarded  it  as  a  thing 
about  which  every  one  should  be  fully  per- 
suaded in  his  own  mind,  and  not  make  himself 
a  busybody  in  other  men's  matters.  I  felt 
assured  that  with  it  my  neighbor  would  go  to 
heaven,  and  almost  as  certain  that  I  should 
find  my  way  thither  without  it.  His  conduct 
seemed  to  justify  my  opinion.  For  his  ha- 
bitual silence,  I  could  account  in  no  other  way. 
During  the  lingering  illness  which  brought  my 
body  to  the  grave  and  my  soul  to  this  place 
of  torment,  there  was  hardly  a  day  when  I  was 
not  the  subject  of  his  kind  inquiries.  Yet  not 
one  word  did  he  say  about  the  claims  of 
Christ,  or  the  guilt  and  danger  of  neglecting 
the  great  salvation.  The  consequence  is,  that 
here  I  am,  and  here  I  must  stay  for  ever. 
Who  can  lie  down  in  everlasting  burnings  ? 
But  I  have  no  other  bed.  Thanks  to  my 
Christian  neighbor,  for  this  awful  doom ! 
Had  he  been  faithful  to  my  soul,  and  warned 
me  of  the  wrath  to  come,  never  had  I  been 
here." 

"  T,  too,"  rejoins  his  companion  in  misery, 
**  once  had  a  religious  friend,  and  that  friend 


THE  LOST  HUSBAND.  37 

was  my  wife.  I  loved  her  with  the  tenderest 
affection,  and  believed  that  her  love  was  na 
less  tender  than  my  own.  Her  piety  was 
unquestioned.  As  she  valued  the  orJmances 
of  God,  I  constantly  accompanied  her  to  the 
sanctuary.  At  her  request,  I  read  prayers 
every  morning  and  evening  with  our  assembled 
household.  It  pleased  her,  and  that  was 
enough  for  me,  for  it  was  the  study  of  my  life 
to  meet  her  views  and  anticipate  her  wishes.  I 
heard  her  speak  to  others  about  Christ,  and^ 
conversion,  and  eternity  ;  but  of  these  things 
she  said  not  one  word  to  me  in  a  manner  whichz 
indicated  a  suspicion  that  matters  between, 
my  soul  and  God  needed  the  slightest  altera-^ 
tion.  I  gave  myself  credit  for  the  piety  which, 
she  evidently  accorded  me  ;  and  though  I 
never  went  so  far  as  to  make  a  public  profes- 
sion  of  religion,  I  thought  myself  in  a  much- 
better  condition  for  doing  so  than  many  who' 
did.  Thus,  life  gently  glided  on  till  the  ill- 
ness overtook  me  of  which  I  died.  She  then 
watched  my  bed  with  unwearied  attention, 
spoke  of  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  and 
of  fearing  no  evil  there,  but  never  asked  me 
on  what  I  was  resting  my  hope  for  eternity. 
She  took  it  for  granted  that  I  was  right,  and  L 
4 


38  THE  LOST  CHILD. 

thought  so  too.  But  she  might  have  known 
that  experimental  religion  never  had  charms 
for  me,  and  that  beneath  an  irreproachable 
character  before  men,  I  had  but  ill  concealed 
a  heart  at  enmity  with  God  :  she  might  have 
known  this,  and  must  have  known  it,  had  it 
not  been  that  affection  blinded  her  judgment ; 
for  there  was  nothing  in  me  to  warrant  a 
belief  that  1  had  passed  from  death  unto 
iife.  My  virtues  were  those  which  a  heathen 
might  have  practised,  and  remained  a  heathen 
«till ;  and  such  a  religion  as  mine  might  have 
existed  had  Christ  never  died.  And  thus  I 
ieft  the  world.  My  last  mortal  recollection  is 
that  my  dear  wife  kissed  my  cold  cheek,  and 
whispered  in  my  ear,  '  Farewell,  my  love,  till 
we  meet  in  heaven.'  Meet  in  heaven  ?  Never ! 
if  we  meet,  it  will  npt  be  there." 

"  And  I,"  adds  a  third,  "  am  another  victim 
of  kindness  ;  my  parents  loved  me  too  ten- 
derly to  permit  my  salvation.  I  once  was 
most  fearfully  alarmed  about  my  soul ;  but 
they  told  me  to  beware  of  excitement,  for  it 
would  injure  my  health  :  they  cautioned  me 
against  enthusiastic  views  of  religion,  and  as- 
sured me  that  one  so  moral  and  virtuous  had 
nothing  to  fear.  I  hearkened  to  their  counsels  ; 


CLAIMS  OF  THE  LIVING.  39 

my  convictions  died  away,  and  never  troubled 
me  again.  Through  all  the  long  months  when 
consumption  was  running  its  course,  I  cher- 
ished the  hope  of  recovery :  not  a  word  was 
said  to  undeceive  me,  till  I  awoke  and  found 
myself  here.  '  The  harvest  is  past,  the  sum- 
mer is  over,  and  I  am  not  saved.'  " 

I  write  not  thus  to  awaken  unavailing  re- 
grets. The  dead  are  gone ;  they  are  beyond 
the  reach  of  our  repentance  and  our  prayers  : 
but  the  consciousness  of  having  been  acces- 
sories to  their  damnation  may  have  a  benefi- 
cial influence ;  it  may  teach  us  how  to  offer 
the  prayer  of  David,  when  he  thought  of  the 
murdered  Uriah,  "  Deliver  me  from  blood- 
guiltiness,  O  God,  thou  God  of  my  salvation 
(Psalm  li.  14).  It  may  do  more :  the  doom 
of  all  the  ungodly  is  not  yet  sealed.  The 
man  who  was  once  within  your  reach  is  beyond 
it  now  ;  but  he  has  left  five  brethren  at  home : 
the  only  amends  you  can  make  to  him  is  to 
warn  them.  Gladly  would  he  send  a  messen- 
ger from  hell  to  do  it,  but  he  cannot ;  there  is 
a  great  gulf  between  (Luke  xvi.  19-31).  But 
that  which  he  cannot  do,  you  may  accom- 
plish; you  may  prevent  their  going  to  that 
place  of  torment.     Try. 


40  CLAIMS  OF  THE  LIVING. 

It  may  be  that  these  remarks  will  fall  into 
the  hands  of  one  whose  sabbath-breaking 
neighbor,  or  whose  unconverted  husband,  or 
whose  •consumptive  child,  is  yet  alive.  Is  it 
so  1  Go,  then,  reader,  and  tell  him  of  his 
danger :  tell  him  now,  lest  to-morrow  it 
should  be  too  late.  Assure  him  of  the  neces- 
sity of  salvation,  and  of  the  certainty  of 
Christ's  willingness  to  save,  to  save  even  him. 
You  may  yet  render  it  impossible  for  him  to 
lay  his  ruin  to  your  charge  ;  yea,  more  than 
this  —  you  may  deliver  his  soul  from  death. 
"  Go,  and  the  Lord  be  with  thee  !"  If  you 
are  afraid  to  tell  him  your  fears,  or  know  not 
how  to  express  them,  take  this  book  in  your 
hand,  and  ask  him  to  read  it :  it  may  be  he 
will  see  his  own  likeness.  If  he  should,  assure 
him  that  the  sketch  is  a  faithful  one,  that  the 
author  intended  him  to  see  it,  and  prepared  it 
for  him,  cherishing  the  hope  that  this  image  of 
his  deformity  would  haunt  him  as  a  spectre, 
until  he  should  become  a  new  creature  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

Conclusions  involving  responsibility  so  ter 
rific  as  that  which  I  have  attempted  to  de 
scribe,  have  been  evaded  by  all  the  devices 
which  ingenuity  can  furnish,  or  in  which  an 


SCHOLASTIC  SUBTLETIES.        41 

uneasy  conscience  can  promise  itself  repose. 
But  conceal  or  mystify  the  awful  fact  as  we 
may,  souls  are  lost  which  might  have  been 
saved,  had  the  servants  of  Christ  obeyed  his 
orders.  Divine  sovereignty,  the  decrees  of 
God,  and  "  the  election  of  grace,"  are  not  the 
things  which  stand  in  the  way  of  the  world's 
conversion.  "  Have  I  any  pleasure  at  all  that 
the  wicked  should  die  ?  saith  the  Lord  God ; 
and  not  that  he  should  return  from  his  ways 
and  live  ?"     (Ezek.  xviii.  23.) 

Peter  knew  nothing  of  the  subtleties  of  the 
schools,  but  he  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
when  he  said,  "  Him,  being  delivered  by  the 
determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,. 
ye  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have  cru- 
cified and  slain."  (Acts  ii.  23.)  In  his  estima* 
tion,  divine  foreknowledge  afforded  no  excuse 
for  human  wickedness.  And  when  the  church 
resumes  the  zeal  and  devotedn^ss  of  primitive 
times,  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  more  attention 
than  at  present  will  be  paid  to  inspired  author- 
ity, and  less  deference  be  rendered  to  human 
systems  of  theology. 

Let  none  say,  "  Had  we  w&med  of  their 
danger  the  souls  which  are  now  lost,  the  warn- 
ing would  have  been  unsuccessfiil  We  hars 
4* 


42  A   PARABLE. 

no  right  to  cherish  such  a  persuasion  ;  and  in 
no  relation  but  this,  would  it  be  tolerated  for 
one  moment.  To  show  the  justice  of  this  as- 
sertion, suppose  the  following  case  : — 

Some  rebels  have  been  convicted  of  high 
treason.  The  question  of  their  guilt  admits 
of  no  doubt,  and  if  any  deserve  death  for  re- 
bellion, they  do.  The  king,  whose  authority 
they  had  attempted  to  subvert,  had  been  their 
personal  friend,  and  had  loaded  them  with 
favors.  Their  treachery,  therefore,  had  all  the 
aggravation  of  the  basest  ingratitude.  Their 
condemnation  excites  no  surprise ;  it  was  ex- 
pected by  everybody.  The  fatal  morning  ar- 
rives, and  crowds  assemble  to  witness  their 
execution  :  there  is  but  one  sentiment  as  to  the 
atrocity  of  their  crime,  and  no  one  imagines 
that  their  lives  will  be  spared.  The  monarch, 
however,  resolves  to  exercise  his  prerogative 
of  mercy.  As  an  act  of  pure  sovereignty,  he 
determines  not  only  to  spare,  but,  on  certain 
conditions,  to  offer  them  a  full  pardon.  A 
great  while  before  it  is  day,  everything  is  ar- 
ranged for  carrying  into  effect  his  gracious 
purpose.  The  necessary  document  is  no  soon- 
er prepared,  than  it  is  put  into  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  attendants  in  waiting,  who  is  informed 


A    PARABLE.  43 

of  its  contents,  and  instructed  to  proceed  on 
the  errand  of  mercy  with  all  possible  despatch. 
There  is  time,  abundant  time,  for  him  to  reach 
the  place  of  intended  execution,  before  the  fa- 
tal moment ;  but  he  loiters  on  the  way.  Who 
would  imagine  the  charge  with  which  he  is 
intrusted  ?  At  length  he  arrives,  but  is  just 
too  late  :  the  drop  has  fallen  ;  the  last  struggle 
is  over  ;  the  culprits  have  entered  eternity ! 
Let  the  crowd  be  told  of  his  cruel  indolence, 
and  what  would  they  say  ?  The  very  men  who 
thought  the  sentence  a  righteous  one,  would 
charge  him  with  being  a  murderer.  Suppose 
that,  to  evade  the  imputation,  he  should  unfold 
his  commission,  and  say,  "  I  deny  it  to  be  a 
pardon  ;  it  is  only  the  offer  of  one,  and  it  is 
such  an  offer  as  would  not  have  been  accepted. 
It  contains  some  very  humiliating  conditions  : 
the  rebels,  in  order  to  be  spared,  were  to  make 
a- full  confession  of  their  guilt ;  they  were  to 
go  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  to  the 
gates  of  the  palace,  with  ropes  round  their 
necks,  acknowledging  the  justice  of  their  ori- 
ginal sentence,  and  ascribing  the  preservation 
of  their  lives  to  the  royal  clemency  of  him 
whose  government  they  had  attempted  to  sub- 
vert. I  knew  the  men  ;  I  was  perfectly  assured 


44  A    PARABLE. 

that  they  would  never  submit  to  such  terms  as 
these,  and  therefore  I  thought  it  of  little  con- 
sequence whether  I  brought  the  document  or 
not.  On  the  whole,  I  regret  that  I  came  too 
late  ;  but  had  I  been  earlier,  the  result  would 
have  been  the  same."  Can  we  imagine  that  the 
crowd  would  have  patience  to  listen  to  such  a 
defence  ?  or,  having  heard  it,  would  think  it 
satisfactory  ?  A  thousand  voices  would  ex- 
claim, "  Wretch  !  murderer  !  tell  us  not  what 
those  men  would  not  have  been  willing  to  do ; 
you  were  sent  to  give  them  an  opportunity  of 
being  willing  to  do  it ;  and  as  they  lost  that 
opportunity  through  your  negligence,  they  owe 
their  death  to  you."  Should  he  escape  being 
torn  in  pieces  on  the  spot,  what  account  would 
he  give  to  the  king  who  sent  him  ?  Would  he 
dare  to  insinuate  that  if  the  offer  of  mercy  had 
been  made  in  sincerity,  it  would  have  been 
expressed  in  different  terms,  and  committed  to 
a  more  trustworthy  messenger  ? 

"If  thou  forbear  to  deliver  them  that  are 
drawn  unto  death,  and  those  that  are  ready  to 
be  slain ;  if  thou  sayest,  Behold,  we  knew  it 
not ;  doth  not  he  that  pondereth  the  heart  con- 
sider it  1  and  he  that  keepeth  thy  soul,  doth 
LiOt  he  know  it  1    and  shall  not  he  render  to 


THE    HIDDEN    LEGER.  45 

every  man  according  to  his  works  ?"  (Prov. 
xxiv.  11,  12.) 

A  fearful  rendering  that  will  be  to  many 
who  think  not  so.  Amid  all  the  efforts  which 
have  been  made  to  send  forth  missionaries, 
and  to  translate  the  Scriptures  into  unknown 
tongues,  few  are  the  Christians  who  contrib- 
ute as  large  a  sum  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world  as  is  wrung  from  them  in  the  shape  of 
rates  and  taxes  ;  and  the  man  who  gives  to 
the  service  of  God  the  same  amount  that  he 
pays  for  the  rental  of  his  house,  is  thought  a 
prodigy  of  benevolence.  Many  a  Christian 
tradesman  would  rather  burn  his  books,  than 
show  them  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  but  he 
who  espied  Nathanael  under  the  fig-tree  (John 
i.  48)  has  seen  them  already,  and  will  render 
to  every  man  according  to  his  works.  A  scale 
of  expenditure  which  pampers  selfishness,  and 
gives  benevolence  the  crumbs,  must  necessa- 
rily grieve  the  good  Spirit  of  God,  and  bring 
leanness  into  the  soul. 

But,  after  all,  it  is  not  here  that  the  worst 
defect  is  found.  Mean  as  the  contributions  of 
Christians  in  general  to  the  treasury  of  God 
undoubtedly  are,  wonders  would  be  accom- 
plished if  those  contributions  were  given  con- 


46  UNCONVERTED    SERVANTS. 

sistently ;  but  they  are  not.  The  man  be- 
stows his  guinea  to  save  the  heathen  ;  but  not 
a  breath  will  he  spend  to  save  his  friend  or 
his  servant  —  perhaps  we  may  add,  his  wife 
or  his  child. 

There  are  thousands  of  unconverted  ser- 
vants living  in  Christian  households,  for  whose 
salvation  not  one  determined  effort  has  ever 
been  made.  Attendance  at  public  worship, 
and  family  prayer,  have  been  thought  sufficient, 
and,  in  the  absence  of  all  other  instrumentality, 
religious  masters  and  mistresses  have  felici- 
tated themselves  on  having  done  their  duty. 
They  have  even  thought  that  the  commenda- 
tion bestowed  on  Abraham  would  not  be  with- 
hold en  from  them  :  "  I  know  him  that  he  will 
command  his  children  and  his  household  after 
him,  and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord." 
(Gen.  xviii.  19.) 

I  was  once  called  to  visit,  in  her  last  illness, 
a  young  woman  of  good  understanding,  who 
had  lived  three  years  in  a  professedly  Christian 
family,  and  had  all  that  time  attended  public 
and  domestic  worship,  as  part  of  her  agree- 
ment, but  who  did  not  know  that  she  had  a 
soul,  or  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners.    Her  mistress  had  never  given 


POPULAR    IGNORANCE.  47 

har  that  information.  She  went  when  others 
went,  knelt  when  others  knelt,  heard  all,  and 
understood  nothing.  Not  one  word,  of  all  the 
sermons  and  prayers  she  had  attended,  had 
fastened  on  her  mind,  or  excited  a  single  in- 
quiry. And  it  is  by  no  means  unlikely,  that 
the  reader  who  thinks  this  statement  improba- 
ble, would  find,  within  his  immediate  circle, 
specimens  of  ignorance  quite  as  appalling,  if 
he  would  but  give  himself  the  trouble  to  search 
them  out. 

A  very  large  portion  of  truth  from  the  pulpit 
falls  unheeded,  because  even  the  plainest  lan- 
guage is  not  generally  understood.  Persons 
who  have  not  made  it  a  subject  of  inquiry, 
would  hardly  believe  the  extent  of  popular  ig- 
norance as  to  the  meaning  of  many  words  most 
commonly  used  in  preaching  the  gospel.  "  Sal- 
vation," "  redemption,"  "  conversion,"  "  atone- 
ment," "justification,"  "  sanctification,"  and  a 
hundred  others  of  the  same  order,  and  without 
which  we  could  not  preach  at  all,  convey  to 
the  minds  of  multitudes  no  distinct,  no  definite 
impressions.  They  think  of  them  as  something 
belonging  to  religion,  and  not  to  common  life  ; 
and  that  is  all  they  know,  or  care  to  know, 
about  the  matter.     And  this  deplorable  igno- 


48  POPULAR  IGNORANCE,  &C. 

ranee  is  not  confined  to  those  whom  we  usu- 
ally regard  as  uneducated.  It  prevails,  to  a 
fearful  extent,  among  all  classes,  and  includes . 
not  a  few  who  pride  themselves  on  their  liter- 
ary attainments.  Some  of  our  most  popular 
writers  have  betrayed  a  lack  of  Christian 
knowledge  which  would  disgrace  a  Sunday- 
school  child  ten  years  old. 

How  can  this  difficulty  be  met  ?  It  never 
can  be  reached  from  the  pulpit.  To  meet  it 
there,  we  must  confine  all  our  lessons  to  the 
mere  alphabet  of  Christianity.  Familiar  con- 
versation is  the  only  thing  which  can  bring 
home  the  plainest  truths  to  minds  so  unin- 
formed ;  and  until  this  be  undertaken  as  a 
matter  of  serious,  personal  obligation  before 
God,  by  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
their  neighbors  will  continue  to  perish  in  their 
sins,  and  to  them  will  belong  the  guilt  of  being 
accessories  to  their  ruin. 


CHAPTER  III. 

With  all  humility  and  tenderness,  I  would 
submit  to  my  dear  and  honored  brethren  in  the 
ministry  the  question,  whether  there  must  not 
be  something  radically  wrong  in  that  preach- 
ing, to  which  the  unconverted  can  approvingly 
listen  year  after  year,  and  remain  in  their  sins. 

It  may  perhaps  be  replied,  that  the  same 
event  happened  to  Ezekiel,  whose  fidelity  none 
will  presume  to  question.  "  They  come  unto 
thee,"  said  the  Lord  to  that  prophet,  "  as  the 
people  Cometh,  and  they  sit  before  thee  as  my 
people,  and  they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  will 
not  do  them  And  lo !  thou  art  unto  them  as 
a  very  lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant 
voice  and  can  play  well  on  an  instrument ;  for 
they  hear  thy  words,  but  they  do  them  not." 
(Ezek.  xxxiii.  31,  32.) 

The  relevancy  of  this  passage  to  the  case 

under  consideration,  is,  however  destroyed  by 

the  context.     The  men  who,  as  a  matter  of 

necessity  or  courtesy,  listened  to  the  message, 

5 


60  MINISTERIAL    FIDELITY. 

hated  the  prophet  who  brought  it :  they  spoke 
against  him  "  by  the  walls  and  in  the  doors  of 
the  houses"  (verse  30).  The  case  of  Ezekiel, 
then,  after  all,  was  no  exception  to  the  general 
rule.  Like  Moses,  and  Jeremiah,  and  Daniel, 
and  a  host  of  holy  men  "  of  whom  the  world 
was  not  worthy,"  who  "  wandered  in  deserts 
and  in  mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth"  (Heb.  xi.  38),  he  found  it  impossible  to 
serve  God  faithfully,  without  provoking  cen- 
sure, and  was  included  by  Stephen  in  his 
sweeping  challenge  to  the  rulers  of  the  Jews ; 
"  Which  of  the  prophets  have  not  your  fathers 
persecuted  ?"     (Acts  vii.  52.) 

We  may  boast  of  the  enlightened  age  in 
which  we  live  ;  but  we  deceive  ourselves,  if 
we  imagine  that  the  world  is  yet  so  changed 
as  to  render  obsolete  the  caution  of  our  Lord 
to  his  disciples  :  "  Wo  unto  you  when  all  men 
shall  speak  well  of  you,  for  so  did  their  fathers 
to  the  false  prophets."     (Luke  vi.  26.) 

The  commendation  of  an  unconverted  hearer 
is  very  questionable  praise.  It  is  possible,  in- 
deed, that  the  man  may  have  information  enough 
to  acknowledge  as  truth  the  evidence  of  his 
condemnation,  or  honesty  enough  to  give  us 
credit  for  the  sincerity  of  our  ministrations ;.  but 


MINISTERIAL    FIDELITY.  51 

it  is  far  more  likely  that  he  endures  our  ser- 
mons because  they  press  but  lightly  on  his 
conscience  ;  because  we  afford  him  so  many 
opportunities  of  evading  our  appeals  ;  or  be- 
cause we  invariably  suffer  him  to  hide  himself 
in  the  crowd ;  and  when  we  describe  the  man 
for  whom  there  is  no  escape,  because  he  neg- 
lects the  great  salvation  (Heb.  ii.  3),  we  care- 
fully guard  against  everything  like  personality, 
lest  he  should  possibly  imagine  that  we  mean 
him. 

But  we  do  mean  him,  or  ought  to  mean  him  ; 
and  the  man  will  never  be  saved  till  he  knows 
it.  Should  he  not  find  it  out  from  our  public 
discourses,  let  us  see  him  at  home,  and  tell  him 
so.  We  have  often  indirectly  described  his 
character,  but  still  he  has  very  little  notion  that 
the  description  applies  to  himself.  We  must 
remove  from  his  mind  all  misapprehension,  and 
with  boldness,  yet  with  affection  and  tender- 
ness, say,  "  Thou  art  the  man." 

Is  it  demanded  who  can  do  this  ?  I  reply, 
that  servant  of  Christ  who  is  found  "  warning 
every  man,  and  teaching  every  man  in  all  wis- 
dom," that  he  "  may  present  every  man  perfect 
in  Christ  Jesus."  (Col.  i.  28.)  The  preacher 
who  wishes  to  save  himself,  and  them  that  hear 


52  MINISTERIAL    FIDELITY. 

him  (1  Tim.  iv.  16),  must  thus  be  made  all 
things  to  all  men,  that  he  may  by  all  means 
save  some  (1  Cor.  ix.  22).  If  sinners  will  take 
warning  in  the  ordinary  way,  our  work  will  be 
so  much  the  lighter  ;  but  if  public  exhortations 
fail  to  produce  the  eflect  desired,  we  must 
adopt  other  methods,  lest  any  one  fail  of  the 
grace  of  God.     (Heb.  xii.  15.) 

And  under  the  influence  of  those  powerful 
views  of  eternity  which  every  man  of  God  may 
be  expected  to  cherish,  it  will,  after  all,  be  no 
very  difficult  matter  to  say  to  an  unconverted 
hearer,  "  My  friend,  I  have  great  heaviness 
and  continual  sorrow  of  heart  on  your  account. 
You  have  now  been  hearing  me  a  whole  year, 
and  I  see  no  proof  that  you  have  been  bene- 
fited by  my  labors.  Have  I  bestowed  upon 
you  labor  in  vain  ?  What  more  can  I  do  to 
lead  you  to  Christ  ?  I  must  soon  give  an  ac- 
count to  God  of  my  watchfulness  for  the  sal- 
vation of  your  soul.  I  want  to  do  it  with  joy, 
and  not  with  grief ;  for  that  would  be  unprofit- 
able for  you.  (Heb.  xiii.  17.)  Must  I  tell 
him  that  though  I  warned  you,  you  would  not 
hearken  ?  that  though  I  entreated  you,  you 
would  not  comply  1  that  though  I  besought 
you,  by  the  tender  mercies  of  God,  to  present 


LAY    AGENCY.  53 

your  body  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  accepta- 
ble, that  'reasonable  service'  (Rom.  xii.  1)  you 
refused  to  render  him,  and  strangely  deter- 
mined to  die  in  your  sins,  notwithstanding  all 
that  infinite  mercy  had  done  for  your  redemp- 
tion and  conversion  ?" 

If  we  are  not  prepared  thus  to  fight  at  close 
quarters,  are  we  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 
(2  Tim.  ii.  3.)  If  we  cannot  thus  commend 
ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience  in  the 
sifrht  of  God,  are  we  fit  for  our  work  ?  are  we 
making  full  proof  of  our  ministry  ?  It  was  thus 
that  the  apostles  labored  (Acts  xx.  20  ;  2  Cor. 
iv.  2  ;  1  Thess.  ii.  11,  12  ;  2  Tim.  iv.  5) ;  and 
if  we  aspire  to  their  successes,  we  must  emu- 
late their  toils. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  piety  and  devoted- 
ness  of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  the  world 
will  remain  unsaved,  while  the  conversion  of 
sinners  is  left  to  them.  The  mightiest  armies 
would  never  have  subdued  a  single  province, 
had  their  officers  been  the  only  fighting  men  : 
it  was  theirs  to  direct  the  battle,  but  victory 
depended  on  the  number,  and  training,  and 
valor  of  the  main  body,  rank  and  file.  And 
never,  until  private  Christians  become  efl*ective 
men,  will  the  church  of  the  living  God  look 
5* 


54  LAY    AGENCY. 

"  forth  as  tlae  morning,  fair  as  the  moon,  clear 
as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners." 

When  the  leaven  of  popery  is  thoroughly 
purged  away,  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful 
will  awake  to  the  fact  that  the  communication 
of  spiritual  blessings  is  not  the  exclusive  pre- 
rogative of  a  privileged  order.  It  was  not  to 
bishops  and  deacons  alone,  but  to  all  the  elect 
strangers  who  were  scattered  throughout  Pon- 
tius, Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia, 
whatever  might  be  their  worldly  circumstances, 
or  ecclesiastical  appointments,  that  Peter  said, 
"  Ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  a  royal  priest- 
hood, a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,  that  ye 
should  show  forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath 
called  you  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous 
light."     (1  Pet.  ii.  9.) 

The  church  of  modern  times  has  never  yet 
called  into  action  one  fiftieth  part  of  the  strength 
which  it  really  possesses.  Among  its  members 
there  are  hundreds,  there  are  thousands,  who 
have  done  nothing  for  Christ ;  they  have  never 
saved  one  soul  from  death  ;  and  no  marvel,  for 
they  have  never  made  the  attempt.  Their  only 
notion  of  doing  good  has  been  to  perform  it  by 
proxy  ;  a  donation,  or  annual  subscription,  to 


PERSONAL    EFFORT.  55 

some  public  society  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel, 
has  been  the  total  amount  of  their  efforts  for 
the  conversion  of  the  world.  It  seems  never 
to  have  entered  their  thoughts  that  Christ  has 
claims  upon  them  for  services  which  they  can 
never  perform  by  deputy,  and  that  nothing  can 
absolve  them  from  personal  obligation  to  bring 
sinners  to  repentance. 

It  was  not  thus  that  the  ancient  church 
achieved  its  triumphs.  "  Salute  the  beloved 
Persis,  which  labored  much  in  the  Lord" 
(Rom.  xvi.  12)  ;  "  and  I  entreat  thee,  true 
yoke-fellow,  help  these  women  which  labored 
with  me  in  the  gospel,  with  Clement  also,  and 
with  other  my  fellow-laborers,  whose  names 
are  in  the  book  of  life"  (Phil.  iv.  3),  are  in- 
structions which  clearly  indicate  the  compre- 
hensive, yet  individual  character  of  that  co-op- 
eration which  sustained  and  cheered  an  apostle, 
while  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  unto 
lUyricum,  he  fully  preached  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  (Rom.  xv.  19.)  The  holy  women 
whose  devoted  exertions  he  mentions  with  so 
much  approbation,  were  forbidden  to  speak  in 
the  public  assembly  (1  Cor.  xiv.  34,  35) ;  but 
they  found  methods  of  glorifying  God  in  the 
domestic   circle,    and   from   house   to  house. 


56  PRIMITIVE  ZEAL. 

Eternity  alone  will  reveal  the  extent  of  thebr 
success. 

A  fine  example  of  the  working  of  this  prim- 
itive system  is  found  in  the  instance  of  Aquila 
and  his  wife  Priscilla.  By  occupation  they 
were  tent-makers.  An  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  apostles  of  the  Gentiles  had  given 
them  advantages  which  few  could  boast,  and 
which  some  would  have  been  glad  to  monopo- 
lize. In  the  synagogue,  at  Ephesus,  they  met 
with  an  eloquent  man,  who  was  mighty  in  the 
Scriptures,  but  who  knew  only  the  baptism  of 
John.  They  invited  him  home,  and  "  ex- 
pounded unto  him  the  way  of  God  more  per- 
fectly." The  consequence  was,  that  Apollos 
went  forth  to  water  the  enclosures  which  Paul 
had  planted  :  talents  which  otherwise  would 
have  been  lost  to  the  church,  were  so  em- 
ployed that  he  "  helped  them  much  who  had 
believed  through  grace,  for  he  mightily  con- 
vinced the  Jews,  and  that  publicly,  showing  by 
the  Scriptures  that  Jesus  was  Christ."  (Acts 
xviii.  28.) 

These  remarks  are  not  intended  to  weaken 
the  claims  of  religious  institutions  to  pecuniary 
aid,  nor  are  they  designed  to  insinuate  that  the 
authority  of  the  pastoral  office  is  to  be  merged 


DIVISION    OF    LABOR.  57 

in  the  general  effort  of  the  whole  church  to 
bring  sinners  to  God.  It  was  the  "  rule"  of 
an  apostle  to  receive,  from  churches  already 
organized,  the  pecuniary  assistance  by  which 
he  was  enabled  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  re- 
gions beyond  them  (2  Cor.  x.  15, 16) ;  and  his 
instructions  imply,  not  only  a  division  of  labor, 
but  a  distinctness  of  instrumentality.  "  Hav- 
ing then  gifts,  differing  according  to  the  grace 
that  is  given  to  us, —  whether  prophecy,  let  us 
prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of  faith ; 
or  ministry,  let  us  wait  on  our  ministering  ;  or 
he  that  teacheth,  on  teaching ;  or  he  that  ex- 
horteth,  on  exhortation  ;  he  that  giveth,  let 
him  do  it  with  simplicity  ;  he  that  ruleth,  with 
diligence  ;  he  that  showeth  mercy,  with  cheer- 
fulness." (Rom.  xii.  6-8.)  Thus,  in  the'prim- 
itive  churches,  the  diversified  "  gifts"  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  faithful  found  room  for  their 
appropriate  exercise,  without  intrenching  on 
*'  another  man's  line  of  things ;"  and,  with  a 
moderate  share  of  wisdom,  the  same  thing  may 
still  be  accomplished :  each  may  work  dis- 
tinctly, and  all  may  work  unitedly.  The  di- 
rection with  which  the  apostle  concludes  the 
instructions  already  quoted  —  "  Let  love  be 
without  dissimulation"  —  is  a  rule  which  will 


58  MODERN    APPLIANCES. 

enable  us  to  conduct  the  most  extensive  and 
multifarious  operations,  without  even  the  pos- 
sibility of  clashing,  or  the  slightest  approach 
to  anything  like  disorder.  Thus,  "  without 
murmurings  or  disputings,"  the  members  of 
the  church  at  Philippi  held  forth  the  word  of 
life,  and  shone  as  lights  in  the  world,  "  in 
the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  nation" 
(Phil.  ii.  15),  and  of  their  brethren  at  Thes- 
salonica  was  borne  this  high  and  honorable 
testimony  :  "  From  you  sounded  out  the  word 
of  the  Lord,  not  only  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia,  but  also  in  every  place."  (1  Thess. 
i.8.) 

It  will  surely  not  be  pretended  that  opportu- 
nities of  usefulness  are  less  frequent,  or  less 
inviting,  now,  than  they  were  in  apostolic 
days.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  means  and 
facilities  of  holy  enterprise  with  which  the 
primitive  Christians  were  not  indulged,  and  of 
which  they  were  unable  to  form  a  conception  ; 
and  the  highest  amount  of  peril  to  which  we 
may  expose  ourselves,  in  provoking  the  hatred 
of  the  world,  bears  not  a  comparison  with  the 
risk  which  they  incurred  who  thought  their 
trials  light  so  long  as  they  had  not  "  resisted 
unto  blood"  (Heb.  xii.  4),  and  who,  when  called 


DIVERSITIES  OF  EMPLOYMENT.  59 

to  that  last  and  highest  act  of  discipleship, 
counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  them,  so  that 
they  might  finish  their  course  with  joy.  (Acts 
XX.  24.)  Murdered  by  the  savages  of  Erro- 
manga,  the  names  of  Williams  and  Harris  will 
go  down  to  posterity,  like  those  of  Stephen 
and  James  the  brother  of  John,  crowned  with 
the  honors  of  martyrdom  ;  but  in  general,  if 
our  missionaries  go  forth  at  the  hazard  of  their 
lives,  it  is  from  other  causes  than  "  perils  by 
the  heathen."  in  many  instances,  the  objects 
of  iheir  com[)assion  are  waiting  to  welcome 
them  10  their  shores  ;  and  from  more  quarters 
than  (according  to  the  present  rate  of  exertion) 

.can  possibly  receive  artention,  the  prayer  of 
the  man  of  iVIacedonia  floats  on  the  breeze  — 
"  Come  over  and  help  us." 

The  modes  of  useful  employment,  moreover, 
are  now  so  diversified  as  to  embrace  all  possi- 

r  ble  varieties  of  talent  and  opportunity,  so  that 
no  disciple  of  Christ  has  a  right  to  say,  "I 
pray  thee  have  me  excused."  As  when  the 
ancient  idolaters  made  cakes  for  the  queen  of 
heaven,  they  found  something  for  everyone 
to  do,  so  may  we  :   the   children  may  gather 

^,M^ood,  and  die  fathers  kindle  the  fire,  and  the 


60  INEFFECTUAL    PRAYER. 

women  knead  their  dough  (Jer.  vii.  18) :  the 
old  and  the  young,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
learned  and  the  illiterate,  may  here  make 
common  cause,  and  become  "  fellow-helpers 
to  the  truth."     (3  John  8.) 

Yet,  notwithstanding  all  the  facilities  with 
which  Providence  has  favored  us,  many  who 
pass  for  Christians  content  themselves  with 
praying  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  while 
they  neglect  the  only  instrumentality  by  which 
it  can  be  accomplished.  The  angels  of  heav- 
en will  never  become  pastors  of  churches,  or 
missionaries  to  the  heathen  :  "  we  have  this 
treasure  in  earthen  vessels"  (2  Cor.  iv.  7)  ;  and 
if  the  nations  are  to  have  the  treasure,  we  must 
not  only  supply  the  vessels  which  contain  it, 
but  we  must  keep  them  in  repair. 

To  ask  that  God  would  bring  the  world  to 
the  faith  of  Christ,  while  we  know  that  "  faith 
Cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word 
of  God"  (Rom.  x.  17) ;  and  moreover,  that  the 
millions  have  no  word  of  God  to  hear,  and, 
therefore,  that  there  is  nothing  for  divine 
agency  to  work  upon,  is  (if  we  at  the  same 
time  withhold  from  them  the  words  whereby 
they  may  be  saved)  but  to  stultify  our  own 
prayers.     As  well  may  we  ask  for  the  showers 


SPIRITUAL    HUSBANDRY.  61 

and  sunshine  of  heaven  to  bring  on  the  harvest 
where  the  fallow  ground  remains  unbroken  and 
unsown :  the  showers  and  sunshine  may  come, 
but  no  harvest  will  follow. 

It  becomes,  then,  a  serious  question  —  Are 
we  putting  forth  an  agency  which  God  can 
bless  ?  All  abstract  reasoning  concerning  his 
power  is  irrelevant.  As  a  mere  question  of 
almightiness,  we  know  that  God  can  create 
the  "  herb  bearing  seed,"  and  grain  for  the  use 
of  man,  without  the  labors  of  the  husbandman  : 
he  did  so  in  the  first  instance,  before  there  was 
a  human  being  to  aid  his  plans  or  witness  his 
operations.  But  has  he  done  so  since  man 
was  made  to  till  the  ground  ?  The  question 
requires  no  answer.  He  gives  us  "  fruitful 
seasons"  still,  "  filling  our  hearts  with  food  and 
gladness"  (Acts  xiv.  17) ;  but  his  bounties  need 
the  labor,  the  forecast,  and  the  constant  indus- 
try of  man,  in  order  to  their  production.  The 
husbandman,  who  laboreth  first,  is  partaker  of 
the  fruits  :  he  must  plough  the  ground  and 
sow  the  seed,  or  he  will  never  reap  the  har- 
vest.    (2  Tim.  ii.  6.) 

Between  the  laws  of  the  natural,  and  those 
of  the  spiritual  world,  there  is  an  analogy  more 
strict  than  some  theological  notions  would  lead 
6 


62  SPIRITUAL    HUSBANDRY 

US  to  suppose.  Faith,  as  we  have  seen,  comes 
by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  word  of  God  : 
the  word  must  be  heard,  in  order  to  accomplish 
its  designs  ;  and  where  it  is  unheard,  or  some- 
thing else  is  heard  in  its  stead,  there  the  bless- 
ing of  heaven  neither  will  nor  can  attend  it. 

As  there  are  certain  conditions  of  seed  in 
which  it  cannot  vegetate,  so  there  are  certain 
conditions  of  the  word  in  which  it  cannot  issue 
in  eternal  life.  As  the  germinating  principle 
in  grain  may  be  destroyed  by  mildew,  damp, 
or  vermin,  and  the  finest  wheat  become  fit 
only  for  the  dunghill,  the  message  of  mercy 
from  heaven  may  be  so  corrupted  by  the  de- 
vices of  men  as  to  become  a  doctrine  of 
devils  (1  Tim.  iv.  1) ;  the  truth  of  God  may 
be  changed  into  a  lie  (Rom.  i.  25) ;  his  grace 
may  be  turned  into  lasciviousness  (Jude  4) ; 
and  a  preacher  may  so  pervert  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  even  by  his  misrepresentation  of  in- 
stitutions unquestionably  divine,  that  Paul 
would  pronounce  him  accursed  (Gal  i.  8,  9). 
•*  Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs 
of  thistles  ?"  But  they  may  do  both,  before 
the  preaching  of  legal  justification,  and  sacra- 
mental grace,  will  convert  souls  to  God. 

All  the  genial  influences  of  rain,  and  dew, 


SPIRITUAL    HUSBANDRY.  63 

and  sunshine,  will  never  cause  that  seed  to 
vegetate  of  which  the  vital  germe  has  perished ; 
and  though  Jehovah  is  as  the  dew  unto  Israel 
(Hos.  xiv.  5),  and  gracious  influences  "  come 
down  like  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  as  show- 
ers that  water  the  earth'*  (Psa.  Ixxii.  6),  no 
blessing  will  arise  where  truth  has  lost  its  vi- 
tality. That  vitality  lost,  it  is  truth  no  more, 
as  grain  is  seed  no  longer  when  its  germinating 
property  is  destroyed. 

Divine  truth,  in  its  integrity,  has  a  vitality, 
an  inherent  principle  of  life,  of  which  fruit  un- 
to life  eternal  is  but  the  natural  result.  Thus, 
our  blessed  Lord,  addressing  some  of  his  dis- 
ciples who  murmured  at  him  aind  were  offended 
at  his  doctrine,  said,  "  The  words  that  I  speak 
unto  you,  they  are  spirit,  and  they  are  life." 
(John  vi.  63.) 

If  we  set  our  hearts  on  occupying  the  field 
of  the  world,  to  cultivate  it  for  God,  we  should 
carefully  ascertain  whether  that  which  we 
have  is  really  "  the  seed  of  the  kingdom." 
Its  genuineness  admits  of  an  easy  test.  Does 
it  spring,  and  grow,  and  produce,  first  the 
blade,  and  then  the  ear,  and  after  that  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear  ?  Or,  to  speak  parables  no 
longer,  are  our  labors  for  God  eminently  dis- 


64  SPIRITUAL    HUSBANDRY. 

tingnished  by  the  conversion  of  souls  ?  This 
is  the  purpose  for  which  God  sent  his  truth  to 
our  world ;  and  if  it  answers  not  that  purpose,  it 
is  "  become  of  none  effect."  Should  any  ques- 
tion the  correctness  of  this  assertion,  I  would 
remind  them  that  in  a  darker  dispensation  than 
ours,  when  only  a  small  portion  of  divine  rev- 
elation had  been  given  to  the  church,  such  was 
even  then  its  design,  and  enough  was  there  to 
secure  that  end.  The  law  of  the  Lord  was 
perfect,  converting  the  soul ;  the  testimony  of 
the  Lord  was  sure,  making  wise  the  simple. 
(Psa.  xix.  7.) 

And  wherever  that  truth  retains  its  purity,  it 
retains  its  power ;  heavenly  influences  are 
waiting  to  bless  it,  and  God  demands  that  his 
servants  shall  so  obey  his  orders,  and  execute 
his  will,  as  to  place  the  world  in  a  condition 
to  receive  and  enjoy  his  measureless  benedic- 
tion. "  Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the  store- 
house, that  there  may  be  meat  in  my  house  ; 
and  prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows 
of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing  that 
there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive  it" 
(Mai.  iii.  10) :  "  for  as  the  rain  cometh  down, 
and  the  snow  from  heaven,  and  returneth  not 


SPIRITUAL  HUSBANDRY.  65 

thither,  but  watereth  the  earth,  and  maketh  it 
bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed  to 
the  sower,  and  bread  to  the  eater  :  so  shall  my 
word  be  that  goeth  forth  out  of  my  mouth  :  it 
shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it  shall  ac- 
complish that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall 
prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  I  sent  it"  (Isa. 
Iv.  10,  11). 

But,  to  revert  to  the  figure  recently  em- 
ployed, the  best  seed  will  not  grow  while  it 
remains  in  the  gxanary.  Would  we  raise  a 
harvest  for  God  ?  We  must  break  up  the  fallow 
ground,  and  carry  forth  the  seed  of  the  king- 
dom from  our  closets  and  depositories,  and 
scatter  it  abroad,  where  it  may  bring  forth 
much  fruit. 

Should  the  result,  after  all,  disappoint  us,  it 
behooves  us,  as  wise  husbandmen,  to  ascertain 
the  cause.  Is  the  fault  in  the  seed,  or  in  the 
soil,  in  the  seasons,  or  in  our  mode  of  culture  ? 
The  seasons  are  such  as  God  promised  they 
should  be,  and,  every  year,  since  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  there  have  been  both  seed-time 
and  harvest ;  and  the  soil,  whatever  its  defects 
may  be,  is  no  worse  than  that  which  has  yielded 
many  a  crop  in  former  times  —  in  some  thirty, 
in  some  sixty,  and  in  some  a  hundred-fold.  If 
6* 


66      CAN  GOD  BLESS  OUR  EFFORTS  ? 

therefore,  we  labor  in  vain,  and  spend  our 
strength  for  nought,  our  seed  must  be  bad,  or 
our  plans  injudicious. 

There  is  one  point,  indeed,  in  which  all 
analogies  drawn  from  nature  completely  fail. 
I  refer  now  to  the  moral  qualifications  of  the 
required  human  agency.  In  the  natural  world, 
one  event  happens  to  all  (Eccl.  ii.  14) :  the  sun 
rises  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  the  rain 
descends  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust  (Matt. 
V.  45).  The  swearer,  the  drunkard,  the  forni- 
cator, or  the  atheist,  may  (if  he  will  employ 
the  same  diligence  of  culture)  reap  as  early 
and  as  large  a  harvest  as  his  Christian  neigh- 
bor;  but  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  rarely 
vegetates  when  it  falls  from  a  polluted  hand, 
and  the  most  awful  truths  of  God  seldom  pro- 
duce any  permanent  impression  when  they  go 
forth  from  feigned  lips.  "  The  sacrifice  of  the 
wicked  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord"  (Prov. 
XV.  8) ;  their  new  moons,  and  their,  appointed 
feasts,  his  soul  hateth  (Isa.  i.  14) ;  and,  by 
parity  of  reasoning,  it  may  be  shown  that  the 
imperfections  and  weaknesses  of  real  Christians 
are  oftentimes  a  fearful  hinderance  in  the  way 
of  the  gospel. 

It   may    be    devoutly  questioned,   whether 


CAN  GOD  BLESS  OUR  EFFORTS  ?      67 

indeed  God  can  extensively  bless  the  efforts  of 
his  people  until  they  are  prepared  to  receive 
and  improve  the  blessing  which  he  designs  to 
bestow.  The  only  limits  of  his  power  are 
those  which  are  set  by  his  own  wisdom,  holi- 
ness, goodness,  and  truth;  it  is,  therefore,  no 
disparagement  of  his  omnipotence  to  affirm 
that  he  cannot  lie  (Titus  i.  2),  as  it  was  no  dis- 
credit to  the  miracles  of  Christ  that  on  one 
occasion  "  he  did  not  many  mighty  works 
there,  because  of  their  unbelief"  (Matt.  xiii. 
58).  "  He  laid  his  hands  upon  a  few  sick  folk, 
and  healed  them"  (compare  Mark  vi.  5),  to 
show  them  that  his  power  was  as  great  as 
ever  ;  upon  only  a  few,  to  convince  them  that 
the  hinderance  was  all  their  own.  But  few 
came,  for  fev^-  had  faith  to  be  healed ;  but  of 
those  who  did  come,  not  one  was  refused. 

Something  analogous  to  this  may  be  seen 
in  our  churches  now  :  a  few  are  converted,  that 
men  may  see  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  not 
shortened  that  it  cannot  save ;  and  only  a 
few,  to  teach  his  people  that  their  iniquities 
have  separated  between  them  and  their  God, 
and  their  sins  have  hid  his  face  from  them 
(Isa.  lix.  1,2).  And,  to  carry  the  parallel  yet 
further,  it   may  be  affirmed  that  if,  notwith- 


68  ARB  WE  PREPARED 

Standing  the  indifference  and  unbelief  of  those 
who  ought  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  the 
lights  of  the  world,  any  sinner  should  desire 
salvation,  he  may  have  it.  Should  but  one  of 
a  village,  or  one  of  a  city,  or  one  of  a  nation, 
offer  in  sincerity  the  prayer,  "  Jesus,  thou  Son 
of  David,  have  mercy  on  me,"  Jesus  will  come 
and  heal  him. 

Individual  conversion,  wherever  it  is  seen, 
affords  demonstrative  evidence  that  the  Lord 
is  there.  Let  but  the  instances  be  multiplied, 
and  then  we  have  "  times  of  refreshing"  (Acts 
iii.  19).  Suppose  them  to  occur  on  the  largest 
scale  imaginable,  and  then  we  realize  the 
visions  of  the  latter  day,  when,  "  the  wolf 
and  the  lamb  shall  feed  together,  and  the  lion 
shall  eat  straw  like  the  bullock,  and  dust  shall 
be  the  serpent's  meet'*  (Isa.  Ixv.  25).  All  that 
shall  in  reality  distinguish  that  day  from  our 
own  will  be,  that  the  people  shall  be  all  righ- 
teous (chap.  Ix.  21),  and  know  the  Lord  from 
the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  (Jer.  xxxi. 
34. 

And  why  are  the  triumphs  of  that  day 
delayed  1  We  need  no  new  revelation  from 
Heaven  to  inform  us.  The  Lord  is  not  slack 
concerning  his  promise  ;   his  faithfulness  re- 


FOR  HIS  BLESSING  T  69 

mains  unshaken,  and  his  truth  endures  for 
ever  and  ever.  But  hinderances  are  found 
on  the  part  of  Christians  themselves,  which 
are  quite  sufficient  to  account  for  all  ;  they 
must  be  awakened  before  others  will  be 
aroused ;  the  demon  of  unbelief  must  be  cast 
out  of  the  faithful,  before  they  can  exorcise  the 
infidelity  of  the  world. 

A  vessel  in  ballast  dares  not  spread  her  can- 
vass to  the  breeze  as  she  can  when  deeply 
laden ;  for  the  gale  which  would  be  propitious 
to  the  freighted  merchantman,  to  her  would 
bring  destruction.  There  are  some  states  of 
mind  in  which  extensive  usefulness  would 
become  a  snare  and  a  curse ;  and  we  may 
imagine  that  God  loves  his  saints  too  well  to 
place  them  in  such  peril :  we  hardly  can  ex- 
pect him  to  bless  us  above  that  which  we  are 
able  to  bear.  If  success  would  engender 
pride,  if  usefulness  to  the  souls  of  others 
would  induce  us  to  neglect  our  own,  we 
cannot  wonder  that  nothing  comes  of  our 
labors. 

These  remarks  gather  force  from  the  fact 
that  special  prayer  has  always  preceded  special 
blessings  :  prayer  has  prepared  the  way  for 
those  blessings  ;  it  has  placed  the  church  in  a 


70  CONNEXION  BETWEEN 

condition  to  receive  them.  There  wa»  pie- 
viousiy  no  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  God ; 
he  was  waiting  to  be  gracious,  waiting  to  have 
compassion,  desiring  not  the  death  of  sinners, 
but  rather  that  they  should  turn  from  their 
wickedness,  and  live  :  but  the  church  was  not 
ready  for  the  blessing,  and  therefore  it  was 
withheld. 

Brethren,  are  these  things  true  ?  Then  you 
and  I  have  been  standing  in  the  way  of  the 
world's  conversion  :  sinners  have  been  perish- 
ing around  us,  because  we  have  been  unfit  to 
be  intrusted  with  their  salvation.  With  us  it 
has  been  a  question  of  success  or  non-success ; 
but  to  them  it  has  been  a  question  of  life  or 
death,  of  heaven  or  hell.  It  is  true  that  not 
one  has  died  in  his  sins,  but  has  justly  per- 
ished by  his  own  iniquity  ;  but  that  is  no  ex- 
cuse for  us.  Their  guilt  cannot  justify  our 
negligence.  Only  God  knows  how  fearful  will 
be  the  disclosures  of  that  day  in  which  he  will 
make  inquisition  for  the  blood  of  the  slain. 

Paul,  on  a  memorable  occasion,  declared 
himself  "  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men.** 
But  on  what  grounds  ?  Because  he  had  not 
shunned  to  declare  unto  them  all  the  counsel 
of  God,  and  by  the  space  of  three  years,  had 


DEVOTEDNESS  AND  SUCCESS.  71 

ceased  not  to  warn  eve^y  one,  night  and  day, 
with  tears.  (Acts  xx.  26,27,  31.)  It  is  therefore 
but  a  fair  inference,  that  had  he  been  unfaithful 
to  the  truth,  or  remiss  in  its  propagation,  the 
blood  of  souls  would  have  been  laid  to  his  ac- 
count. Let  not  this  assertion  be  charged  with 
extravagance  :  it  is  but  the  testimony  of  God 
himself. "  Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watch- 
man unto  the  house  of  Israel,  therefore  hear  the 
word  at  my  mouth,  and  give  them  warning  from 
me.  When  I  say  unto  the  wicked  thou  shalt 
surely  die,  and  thou  givest  him  not  warning,  nor 
speakest  to  warn  the  wicked  from  his  wicked 
way,  to  save  his  life,  the  same  wicked  man 
shall  die  in  his  iniquity  ;  but  his  blood  will  I 
require  at  thine  hand."  (Ezek.  iii.  17,  18.) 

But  if  we  aim  at  nothing  beyond  exemption 
from  bloodguiltiness,  we  set  our  mark  too  low. 
A  man  who  is  no  murderer,  may  yet  be  a 
very  profitless  member  of  the  community.  The 
constant  study  of  Christians,  in  relation  to  the 
unconverted,  should  be  to  turn  them  from 
darkness  unto  light,  and  from  the  power  of 
Satan  unto  God.  This  may  be  done,  and 
Christ  has  sent  them  to  do  it.  (Compare  Acts 
xxvi.  18,  with  Matt.  v.  16.)   Let  them  attempt 


72  OBJECTIONS  DRAWN  FROM 

it  in  faith,  and  he  will  bless  iheir  efforts  to  that 
end.  (James  v.  19,  20.) 

There  are  some,  however,  who  question,  and 
even  deny,  the  connexion  between  fidelity  and 
success  ;  and  they  endeavor  to  prove  their 
position  by  a  reference  to  the  personal  ministry 
of  our  blessed  Lord.  They  tell  us  that  he 
stretched  forth  his  hands  imto  a  disobedient 
and  gainsaying  people  (Rom.  x.  21);  that  it 
was  his  lamentation,  "  Ye  will  not  come  to  me 
that  ye  might  have  life"  (John  v.  40)  ;  "  How 
often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children 
together,  as  a  hen  doth  gather  her  brood  under 
her  wings,  and  ye  would  not.  (Luke  xiii.  34.) 
And  they  refer  us  to  the  hundred  and  twenty 
disciples  assembled  at  Jerusalem  after  his 
resurrection  (Acts  i.  15),  as  the  whole  product 
of  his  labors. 

Much  might  be  said  to  prove  that  the  popular 
notion  of  the  unsuccessfulness  of  his  personal 
ministry  is  incorrect ;  —  that  though  only  one 
hundred  and  twenty  names  were  enrolled  at 
Jerusalem,  many,  like  Joseph  of  Arimathea, 
were  his  disciples,  but  secretly,  for  fear  of  the 
Jews  (John  xix.  38) ;  that  Paul  mentions  his 
having   been  "  seen  of  above   five    hundred 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  CHRIST.  73 

brethren  at  once"  (1  Cor.  xv.  6),  who,  after  all, 
were  only  chosen  witnesses,  selected,  as  it  may 
be  fairly  presumed,  from  a  much  greater  num- 
ber (Acts  X.  41) ;  that  his  main  object  in  going 
over  the  towns  and  cities  of  Judea  was  to  lay 
the  foundation  of  his  future  kingdom,  and  to 
enable  his  servants,  after  his  ascension  to 
heaven,  to  challenge  the  disproof  of  their 
statements,  while  they  affirmed  of  the  facts 
which  their  testimony  embraced,  and  from 
which  they  derived  their  authority,  "  These 
things  were  not  done  in  a  corner."  But  Iwaive^ 
all  these  considerations,  and  meet  the  objeetioct 
as  it  stands. 

Admit  that  the  hundred  and  twenty,  and 
those  of  their  former  companions  who  had 
"  fallen  asleep,"  were  the  only  fruits  of  his 
toils,  yet  will  the  total  result  present  an  average 
amount  of  usefulness  with  which  the  successes 
of  few  of  his  servants  will  bear  a  comparison. 
Here  would  be  a  soul  for  every  sabbath  of  his 
public  life.  Rare,  indeed,  have  been  the  in- 
stances in  which  his  most  favored  disciples 
have  been  honored  with  equal  success. 

I  confess  that  I  write  these  remarks  with 
a  trembling  hand.      There  seems  something^ 
bordering   on   the    profane  in    an  attempt  to 
7 


74  OBJECTIONS  DRAWN  FROM 

measure  our  success  with  his.  If  the  Socinian 
hypothesis  were  correct,  and  he  came  only  as 
a  teacher  sent  from  God,  a  man  of  like  passions 
with  ourselves,  to  show  unto  us  the  way  of 
salvation,  the  comparison  would  be  legitimate  ; 
but  its  result  would  still  be  very  humbling: 
his  would  be  an  example  of  success  before 
which  the  greater  part  of  his  most  devoted 
followers  must  hide  their  heads.  But  when 
we  remember  that  the  grand  design  of  his 
mission  was  to  bear  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
-on  the  tree  (1  Pet.  ii.  24) ;  that  the  rejection 
•of  his  testimony  and  the  personal  insults  which 
he  bore  were  part  of  those  sufferings  through 
which  it  became  him  for  whom  are  all  things, 
and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many 
«ons  imto  glory,  to  make  the  Captain  of  their 
salvation  perfect  (compare  Heb.  ii.  10,  with 
Isa.  liii.  4) ;  that  he  even  took  our  infirmities 
that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and  faithful  high- 
priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  to  make  rec- 
onciliation for  the  sins  of  the  people  (Heb.  ii. 
17)  ;  that  he  suffered  being  tempted,  that  he 
might  be  able  to  succor  the  tempted  (ver.  18) ; 
when  we  remember  these  things,  and  view  them 
in  relation  to  his  great  sacrifice  on  the  cross,  the 
<juestion  of  the  number  of  souls  saved  by  his 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  CHRIST.  75 

personal  ministry,  infinitely  important  to  them- 
selves as  their  salvation  undoubtedly  was, 
dwindles  into  insignificance. 

Let  it  moreover  be  borne  in  mind,  that  his 
life  and  labors  have  formed  the  text-book  of 
all  who  have  been  successfully  engaged,  from 
that  day  until  now,  in  saving  the  souls  of  men  ; 
and  that,  by  anticipation,  to  him  gave  "  all  the 
prophets  witness,  that  through  his  name  who- 
soever believeth  in  him  shall  receive  remission 
of  sins,"  (Acts  x.  43.)  Let  us  give  to  these 
considerations  but  a  moderate  share  of  atten- 
tion, and  then  dare  we  form  a  low  estimate  of 
his  success  X  He  finished  the  work  which  was 
given  him  to  do  (John  xvii.  4),  and  the  pleasure 
of  the  Lord  prospered  in  his  hand.  (Isa.  liii.  10.) 

But  further  ;  he  expressly  stated,  "  He  that 
believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do,  shall  he 
do  also ;  and  greater  works  than  these  shall 
he  do,  because  I  go  unto  my  Father'*  (John 
xiv.  12).  This  is  a  declaration  which  evidently 
refers  to  augmented  success  in  the  conver- 
sion of  souls  ;  for,  in  so  far  as  miraculous 
agency  was  concerned,  his  disciples,  not  ex- 
cepting the  apostles  themselves,  never  did 
works  greater  than  his  own  ;  the  fulfilment  of 
the  promise  is  therefore  found  in  the  fact  that 


76  OBJECTIONS  DRAWN  FROIVf 

when  he  was  glorified,  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
thenceforth  given  to  render  each  of  his  dis- 
ciples a  source  of  blessings  to  the  world,  a 
fountain  of  living  waters  to  the  universe.  (John 
vii.  38,  39.) 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  further  objected  that  the 
success  of  the  apostles  was  not  invariable  ; — 
that  there  were  mockers  at  Athens,  though  Paul 
was  the  preacher  (Acts  xvii.  22)  ;  that  some 
whom  his  warmest  appeals  were  directed,  judg- 
ed themselves  "  unworthy  of  everlasting  life" 
(chap.  xiii.  46)  ;  and  that  he  alluded  with  tears, 
to  many  who,  after  all  his  labors  for  their  sal- 
vation, remained  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ, 
whose  end  is  destruction.  (Phil.  iii.  18,  19.) 

The  facts  are  unquestionable,  but  when  they 
are  adduced  to  disprove  the  connexion  between 
fidelity  and  success,  they  are  cited  in  vain  :  for, 
with  the  primitive  church,  success  was  the  rule, 
failure  the  exception.  At  Athens,  some  dared 
to  mock  when  the  apostle  preached  "  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,"  but  others  received 
the  word  with  gladness.  His  success,  even 
there,  was  such  as  would  delight  the  heart  of 
many  a  devoted  missionary  now,  even  though 
all  his  exertions  beside  should  have  been 
unproductive.     Dionysius,  the  Areopagite,   a 


THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  APOSTLES.  77 

member  of  the  highest  spiritual  court  in  the 
pagan  world,  was  no  mean  convert ;  and  he 
was  not  the  only  one  ;  Damaris  and  others 
were  left  to  testify  to  their  heathen  neighbors, 
that  a  prophet  of  the  "  unknown  God"  had 
passed  that  way,  and  had  told  them  of  the 
great  sacrifice  which,  once  for  all,  had  been 
laid  upon  his  altar  to  take  away  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world.  If  Paul's  kindred  in  the 
flesh  rejected  his  testimony,  he  turned  to  the 
Gentiles  (Acts  xiii.  46).  And  if  he  wept  over 
some,  because  he  had  bestowed  on  them  labor 
in  vain,  to  how  many  did  he  say,  "  Our  hope, 
our  joy,  our  crown  of  rejoicing,  are  ye  in  the 
presence  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  his  com- 
ing?" (1  Thess.  ii.  19.)  Their  number  will 
never  be  known  till  that  day  shall  declare  it. 
Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  the  formida- 
ble opposition  with  which  the  apostles  had  to 
contend,  instead  of  disheartening,  impelled 
them  to  new  and  persevering  efforts.  They 
saw  arrayed  against  them  the  fatuity  of  igno- 
rance on  the  one  side,  and  the  pride  of  intellect 
on  the  other.  The  Sadducees  of  their  day  were 
as  flippant  and  as  reckless  as  any  of  our  modem 
materialists  ;  and  Peter,  in  his  second  epistle, 
describes  an  order  of  things  quite  as  appalling 
7* 


78  ANCIENT  SUCCESSf. 

as  any  with  which  infidelity  would  imbody  itsf 
idea  of  a  new  moral  world.  Yet  these  were 
the  materials  which,  transformed  into  living 
stones,  were  brought  together  to  build  "  a 
spiritua'l  house,  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer  up 
spiritual  sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus 
Christ"  (1  Pet.  ii.  5).  In  preaching  the  gos* 
pel,  Paul  considered  himself  "  a  debtor  both 
to  the  Greeks  and  to  the  barbarians,  both  to 
the  wise  and  to  the  unwise^' (Rom.  i.  14)  ;  and 
he  included  converted  infidels  and  sensualists, 
of  all  possible  varieties,  when  he  said,  "And 
such  were  some  of  you ;  but  ye  are  washed, 
but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified,  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit 
of  our  God."  (1  Cor.  vi.  11.) 

But  who  that  is  competent  to  form  an  opinion 
on  the  subject,  can  say  that  success  is  now  the 
rule,  and  failure  still  the  exception  ?  The  state 
of  things  in  this  respect  is  fearfully  changed. 
To  say  nothing  of  the  neglected  and  profligate 
world,  multitudes  attend  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  all  their  days,  and  live  and  die  without 
religion.  Unregenerated  thousands  dwell  in 
the  midst  of  Christian  associations  and  Christian 
ordinances,  year  after  year,  and  remain  in  their 
sins  till  death  sunrnions  them  to  judgment  and 


MODERN  INEFFICIENCY.  79 

consigns  them  to  everlasting  flames.  And  this 
is  now  regarded  so  much  as  a  matter  of  course, 
that  when,  anrid  a  population  of  some  tens  of 
thousands,  a  few  hundreds  are  really  awakened 
to  a  sense  of  their  guilt,  and  are  induced  to 
flee  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  them,  the 
church  stands  astonished  at  so  extraordinary 
a  circumstance,  and  the  whole  country  rings 
with  the  news  of  a  revival. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  discourage  the  feeling 
of  exultation  which  such  a  fact  should  excite. 
•*  There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels 
of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth"  (Luke 
XV.  10)  ;  and  if  we  cannot  sympathize  with 
angels,  we  shall  never  be  admitted  to  their 
fellowship.  The  man  to  whom  the  conversion 
of  sinners  affords  no  delight,  is  himself  "  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity." 
We  cannot  but  rejoice  in  the  conversion  of 
others,  if  we  have  been  converted  ourselves, 
but  why  should  this  our  joy  so  seldom  be  fulfil- 
led ?  Why  should  the  occasions  of  holy  triumph 
be  so  few  and  far  between  ?  In  other  words, why 
should  not  the  condition  which  we  term  revi- 
val, be  the  ordinary  condition  of  our  churches  ? 

It  is  easy  to  get  rid  of  the  difficulty  by  im- 
puting it  to  the  government  of  God.    So  many 


80  ADAPTATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL 

have  done,  and  have  persuaded  themselves 
that  the  salvation  of  the  world  is  no  business 
of  theirs  :  but  let  us  take  heed  how  we  charge 
God  foolishly.  Adam  could  find  a  similar 
reason  for  eating  the  forbidden  fruit  —  "  The 
woman  whom  thou  gavest  to  be  with  me,  she 
gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I  did  eat"  (Gen.  iii. 
12) ;  but  the  excuse  did  not  avail  him  ;  God 
did  not  even  deign  to  notice  it :  and  what- 
ever may  be  our  opinions  now,  a  day  is  com- 
ing, when  to  stand  in  the  place  of  the  slothful 
servant,  and  say,  "  Lord,  I  knew  thee  that  thou 
art  a  hard  man,  reaping  where  thou  hast  not 
sown,  and  gathering  where  thou  hast  not 
strawed,"  will  be  a  certain  presage  of  "  outer 
darkness,"  where  "  there  shall  be  weeping  and 
gnashing  of  teeth."  (Matt.  xxv.  24,  30.) 

There  seems,  on  the  part  of  some,  to  be  an 
extreme  reluctance  even  to  acknowledge  the 
adaptation  of  divine  ordinances,  or,  as  they 
are  more  commonly  called,  the  means  of  grace, 
to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  designed. 
To  such  persons  it  appears  almost  sacrilegious 
to  place  together,  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  and  the 
conversion  of  men.  A  similar  relation  they 
can  see  and  admire  throughout  the  world  of 


TO  ANSWER   ITS  DESIGN.  81 

nature,  and,  so  far  from  regarding  it  as  involv- 
ing a  suspicion  that  the  Creator  has  w^ithdrawn 
from  the  universe  and  abandoned  it  to  chance, 
they  consider  it  a  proof  of  his  constant  presence 
there.  But  oh,  the  presumption  of  attempting 
to  trace  effects  to  their  causes  when  religion  is 
concerned  !  In  that  department  of  his  govern- 
ment, it  would  seem  we  have  nothing  to  do 
with  causes ;  they  all  resolve  themselves  into 
one  simple  fact  —  the  sovereignty  of  God. 

Few  would  assert  this  in  so  many  words, 
but  many  think  so,  and  a  great  many  more, 
who  are  quite  unconscious  of  entertaining  such 
an  opinion,  act  as  if  they  thought  so.  With 
them,  all  usefulness,  all  success,  so  far  as  their 
agency  is  concerned,  is  quite  accidental :  the 
bow  is  drawn  at  a  venture  ;  if  the  arrow  should 
strike,  so  much  the  better,  and  a  wondrous 
proof  that  God  directed  its  flight :  if  it  should 
fall  to  the  ground  before  it  can  take  effect,  or 
completely  miss  the  mark,  they  never  suspect 
that  the  reason  might  be  their  want  of  strength, 
or  of  skill,  or  of  both ;  they  even  make  their 
carelessness  the  ground  of  self-complacency, 
and  fancy  that  they  honor  God  by  thus 
"  ceasing  from  man,"  and  placing,  as  they  tell 
us,  no  dependance  upon  "  means."     And  some 


82      ADAPTATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

who  would  loudly  exclaim  against  these  absurd- 
ities, have  nevertheless  suffered  their  jeal- 
ousy for  the  honor  of  God  to  carry  them  to 
dangerous  extremes  :  they  have  magnified  his 
power  at  the  expense  of  his  wisdom,  and  have 
even  contended  for  the  divine  authority  of  the 
gospel  on  the  ground  of  its  incongruity  :  thus 
attempting  to  prove  that  God  has  sent  it,  be- 
cause it  accomplishes  that  for  which  it  has 
neither  fitness  nor  adaptation. 

The  assertion  of  Paul  concerning  the  "  fool- 
ishness of  preaching"  (1  Cor.  i.  21),  has  in  some 
quarters  been  grossly  misapprehended.  His 
argument,  correctly  understood,  will  no  more 
warrant  such  an  assumption,  than  it  will  that 
foolishness  and  weakness  may  be  predicated 
of  the  ever-blessed  God  (verse  25).  By  "  the 
foolish  things,"  "  the  weak  things,"  and  "  the 
base  things  of  the  world"  (verses  27,  28),  he 
means  not  things  which  are  really  such, 
but  things  which  are  so  regarded  by  men  of 
high  repute  for  their  worldly  wisdom  ;  and,  to 
end  all  doubt  as  to  his  intention,  he  expressly 
declares  that  which  the  Jews  thought  a 
stumbling-block,  and  the  Greeks  accounted 
foolishness,  to  be  "  the  power  of  God,  and  the 
wisdom  of  God"  (verse  24). 


ITS  REJECTION  WILFUL.  83 

The  message  of  reconciliation  is  admirably- 
adapted  to  effect  the  gracious  intention  of 
Him  who  sent  in ;  the  "  faithful  saying"  is 
•♦worthy  of  all  acceptation"  (1  Tim.  i.  15); 
and  that  men  should  need  the  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  dispose  them  to  receive  it,  is  but 
a  proof,  and  perhaps  the  most  fearful  one  we 
have,  of  the  extent  of  human  depravity.  On 
other  subjects,  and  as  to  other  matters,  self- 
love  is  a  motive  almost  resistless  :  convince 
a  man  that  your  advice  will  greatly  promote 
his  advantage,  and  he  will  want  no  farther 
reason  for  its  immediate  adoption  ;  but  as  to 
religion,  the  indisposition  of  the  heart  survives 
the  enlightenment  of  the  understanding  :  many- 
know  the  claims  of  God,  but  never  obey  them  ; 
they  comprehend  the  message  of  mercy,  but 
aever  believe  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul 

It  is  a  great  error  in  relation  to  this  state  of 
mind,  to  regard  it  simply  as  a  matter  of  help- 
lessness. It  is  not  helplessness,  it  is  depravity, 
and,  as  such  deserves  the  ruin  which  it 
brings.  *'  How  can  we  turn  to  God  until  he 
gives  us  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  makes  us  willing 
in  ihe  day  of  his  power?"  is  the  plausible 
inquiry  of  thousands,  while  they  are  daily 
resisting  the  Holy  Ghost  (Acts  vii.  51).  They 


84  OBLIGATION  OF  BEING 

are  refusing  the  gift  for  which  they  pretend  to 
be  waiting,  and  there  is  not  one  among  them 
who  has  not  already  resisted  and  put  away 
an  amount  of  divine  testimony  which,  if  wel- 
comed and  followed  out,  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  bring  the  whole  world  to  the  faith  of 
Christ. 

To  plead  before  Him  who  sends  the  Holy 
Spirit,  a  destitution  of  divine  influence  as  an 
excuse  for  neglecting  or  disobeying  his  will, 
is  but  to  add  insult  to  rebellion  ;  and  when 
they  can  do  it  who  know  that  Jesus  said,  "  If 
ye,  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts 
unto  your  children,  how  much  more  shall  your 
heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him?"  (Luke  xi.  13.)  Their  conduct 
presents  a  specimen  of  infatuation  hardly  to 
be  equalled  in  the  universe.  I  demand  of 
these  patient  waiters  for  divine  influences, 
how  they  are  waiting  :  whether  they  are  wait- 
ing, as  the  disciples  did,  "  with  one  accord  in 
prayer  and  supplication  (Acts  i.  14) ;  or  like 
the  Jews,  who,  after  all  the  mighty  works  which 
they  had  heard  and  seen,  had  the  audacity  to 
8ay  to  Jesus,  "  How  long  dost  thou  make  us 
to  doubt?  If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us 
plainly."  (John  x.  24.) 


FILLED  WITH  THE  SPIRIT.  85 

In  religious  inquiry,  different  states  of  mind 
lead  to  very  different  results  ;  to  one  class  of 
inquirers  Jesus  said,  "  An  evil  and  adulterous 
generation  seeketh  after  a  sign,  and  there  shall 
no  sign  be  given  to  it  but  the  sign  of  the  proph- 
et Jonas"  (Matt.  xii.  39) ;  while  he  assured 
another,  that  if  any  man  will  do  the  will  of 
the  Father  who  sent  him,  he  shall  know  the 
doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God.  (John  vii.  17.) 

And  if  the  pretence  of  waiting  for  the  Holy 
Spirit  will  not  excuse  the  impenitent  in  re- 
fusing to  submit  to  Christ,  neither  will  it 
justify  the  indolence  of  Christians  in  delaying 
to  "  work  the  work  of  God."  If  we  have  not 
the  spirit  of  Christ,  we  are  none  of  his  (Rom. 
viii.  9)  ;  and  if  we  are  his,  we  "  are  led  by  the 
spirit"  (verse  14) ;  we  "  walk  in  the  spirit" 
(Gal.  v.  16) ;  and  we  are  expected,  and  even 
commanded  to  be  "filled  with  the  spirit." 
The  obligation  of  this  attainment  is  as  bind- 
ing as  it  is  to  abstain  from  drunkenness  (Eph. 
V.  18)  ;  and  that  it  should  not  be  so  accounted 
is  a  melancholy  proof  that  the  church  has  de- 
generated as  to  its  standard  of  piety :  yet  is 
the  fact  undeniable,  that  to  "  come  behind"  in 
a  gift  so  essential  to  the  progress  of  religion 
and  the  conversion  of  the  world,  is,  by  the 
8 


86  SPIRITUAL  DESERTION. 

faithful  themselves,  esteemed  a  calamity,  but 
not  a  disgrace.  Often  has  that  been  ascribed 
to  the  mysteries  of  Providence,  or  the  sover- 
eignty of  God,  for  which  an  apostle  would 
find  another  and  a  more  humiliating  solution : 
"Ye  have  not,  because  ye  ask  not ;  ye  ask, 
and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss."  (James 
iv.  2,  3.) 

Many,  who  are  loud  in  their  complaints  as 
to  their  destitution  of  the  cheering  and  quick- 
ening influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  would  be 
ashamed  to  state  the  time  and  the  manner  iq 
which  they  are  accustomed  to  seek  them :  the 
neglected  closet,  the  careless  confession,  and 
the  drowsy  prayer  v»'ould  account  for  all  ;  and 
the  wonder  is,  not  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
been  grieved,  but  that  he  has  not  taken  his 
flight  for  ever. 

Others,  against  whom  the  charge  of  negli- 
gence is  not  so  clear,  desire  the  Holy  Spirit, 
but  it  is  only  to  make  them  happy,  not  lo 
make  them  useful.  They  have  been  seeking 
divine  influences  all  their  lives,  without  any 
sensible  improvement  in  the  happiness  which 
they  so  earnestly  desire.  The  reason  is  appa- 
rent —  selfisnness  is  their  real  motive  :  the  in- 
fluences which  they    implore  are  sought  for 


HOLY  SPIRIT,  THE  ADVOCATE  OF  CHRIST.    87 

home  consumption,  not  for  distribution  ;  for  ' 
mere  enjoyment,  not  for  holy  activity.  This 
is  the  very  thing  which,  in  the  passage  recently 
quoted,  is  assigned  as  a  reason  why  prayer  itself 
is  sometimes  unproductive  —  "  That  ye  may 
consume  it  upon  your  lusts,"  or,  as  the  margin 
reads,  "  on  your  pleasures."  Thus  was  Israel 
•'  an  empty  vine,"  he  brought  forth  "  fruit  unto 
himself."    (Hosea  x.  1.) 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  some  Christians 
cherish  a  notion  that  the  chief  design  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  to  make  them  happy,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  described  by  our  Lord, 
and  promised  to  the  church,  as  "the  Com- 
forter." It  is  true  that  this  is  one  meaning  of 
TarkXrof,  the  word  so  rendered  in  the  four- 
teenth, fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  chapters  of  the 
Gospel  by  John ;  but  it  is  not  the  only  mean- 
ing of  that  word,  and  perhaps  is  not  even  the 
best  that  might  have  been  selected.  It  is 
used  only  once  again  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  then,  as  in  the  present  instance,  it  comes 
from  the  pen  of  the  beloved  disciple.  Now,  it 
seems  hardly  probable,  that,  in  reporting  the 
discourses  of  Christ  through  the  medium  of 
another  tongue,  extremely  diverse  from  that 
in  which  ihey  were  spoken,  he  would  employ 


88  HIS  PLEA  SUCCESSFUL. 

a  word,  and  especially  an  unusual  one,  in  a 
sense  very  remote  from  that  in  which  he  was 
accustomed  to  use  it  himself ;  yet,  in  his 
epistle  it  is  rendered  "  advocate"  (1  John  ii.  1), 
a  term  which  would  better  suit  the  sense  in 
every  instance  where  it  occurs  in  the  gospel, 
than  "  comforter"  would  do  to  take  its  place 
in  the  epistle. 

Comparing  the  passages  together,  it  seems  a 
just  conclusion,  that  as  Christ  is  the  advocate, 
or  representative  of  his  people  in  heaven,  so  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  advocate,  or  representative 
of  Christ  upon  earth.  The  plea  is  in  both 
instances  the  same  —  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary. 
"  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous,"  pleads  that 
sacrifice  with  God  on  behalf  of  man  (Heb.  ix. 
24),  and  the  Holy  Spirit  pleads  it  with  man  on 
behalf  of  God.  "  Forasmuch  as  ye  were  not 
redeemed  with  corruptible  things,  as  silver  and 
gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ" 
(1  Peter,  i.  18,  19),  is  the  argument  which  he 
sustains  with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered. 
(Rom.  viii.  26.)  And  when  that  argument 
reaches  the  heart,  "  in  demonstration  of  the 
Spirit  and  of  power"  (1  Cor.  ii.  4),  the  inquiry, 
"  Lord,  what  wouldst  thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 
is  the  immediate  and  necessary  consequence. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

If  Jesus  were  still  a  man  of  sorrows,  not 
having  where  to  lay  his  head,  Piety  might 
spread  him  a  table,  and  provide  him  a  home. 
Affection  might  weave  for  him  the  seamless 
garment,  or  break  the  alabaster-box  of  ointment 
of  spikenard,  very  precious,  and  so  anoint  him 
for  his  burial.  Poverty  herself  might  wash  his 
feet  with  her  tears,  and  wipe  them  with  her 
hair.  At  the  end  of  his  sojourn,  Wealth  might 
find  him  a  new  sepulchre,  hewn  in  the  rock, 
where  never  man  was  yet  laid.  And  as  a  final 
act  of  homage,  Gratitude  might  bring  her  spices 
and  ointments,  about  a  hundred  pounds  weight, 
as  the  manner  was  of  the  Jews  to  bury.  But 
these  offerings  now,  like  the  last,  would  all  be 
unseasonable.  He  needed  not  the  skill  of  the 
embalmers  when  he  had  risen  from  the  dead, 
and  he  requires  not  our  personal  ministrations 
now  he  has  ascended  to  glory. 

Yet  are  there  services  still  more  important, 
still  more  essential,  which  he  allows  us  to  ren- 
der him,  and  which  he  expects  at  our  hands. 
8* 


90  CLAIMS    OF    JESUS. 

The  spirit  of  his  parting  charge  to  Peter  may 
be  considered  as  extending  through  all  time. 
"  Lovest  thou  me  ?"  —  "  feed  my  sheep  ;" 
**  Lovest  thou  me  ?"  —  "  feed  my  lambs." 
(John  xxi.  15-17.)  If  he  has  "  other  sheep  to 
bring  which  are  not  of  this  fold,"  to  us  is  in- 
trusted the  instrumentality  which  shall  guide 
them  to  his  feet.  And  the  day  in  which  his 
church  shall  have  subdued  the  world  to  his 
faith  and  fear,  is  that  in  which  "  he  shall  see  of 
the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied." 

The  glory  of  Christ  must  be  our  grand  mo- 
tive while  we  attempt  the  conversion  of  sinners. 
To  save  their  souls  from  death,  is  a  noble  en- 
terprise ;  but  it  derives  its  highest  character 
from  the  honor  which  it  brings  to  him  who  is 
the  resurrection  and  the  life.  Is  Jesus  my 
Lord  ?  Then  others  shall  obey  him.  Is  he  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins  ?  Then  "  not  for  ours 
only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 

The  fact  of  his  infinite  sacrifice  is  the  ground 
of  his  universal  claim  ;  and  if  we  would  lay 
hold  of  the  consciences  of  men  with  a  firm 
grasp,  we  must  boldly  state  it,  notwithstanding 
all  the  objections  of  the  schoolmen.  Some 
may  suspect  our  orthodoxy,  and  others  think 
us   mad,    but   our   defence    is   ready.     "  For 


EXTENT  OF  HIS  SACRIFICE.  91 

whether  we  be  beside  ourselves,  it  is  to  God  : 
or  whether  we  be  sober,  it  is  for  your  cause  : 
for  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us  ;  because 
we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then 
were  all  dead  ;  and  that  he  died  for  all,  that 
they  which  live  should  not  henceforth  live 
unto  themselves,  but  unto  him  which  died  for 
them,  and  rose  again."     (2  Cor.  v.  13-15.) 

If  metaphysical  subtleties  prevent  our  say- 
ing to  men  who  afterward  are  found  to  perish 
in  unbelief,  "  God,  having  raised  up  his  Son 
Jesus,  sent  him  to  bless  you,  in  turning  away 
every  one  of  you  from  his  iniquities,"  our  the- 
ology is  not  precisely  that  of  the  apostolic 
school,  for  this  is  a  faithful  rendering  of  the 
very  words  of  Peter  when  addressing  a  most 
hopeless  assembly.  (Acts  iii.  26.)  His  hear- 
ers on  that  occasion  were  persons  who  had  not 
only  rejected  the  testimony  of  Christ,  but  their 
unbelief  having  survived  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
they  had  also  bidden  defiance  to  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Surely,  if  any  circumstances  would 
justify  caution  and  reserve,  such  were  these. 
Yet  he  boldly  claims  the  men  who  had  "  de- 
nied the  Holy  One  and  the  Just,"  and  "  desired 
a  murderer  to  be  granted"  unto  them,  and  had 
"  killed  the  Prince  of  Life  ;"  —  and  he  claims 


92  APOSTOLIC    APPEALS. 

them  on  the  broad  ground  of  God's  gracious 
invitation  that  every  one  of  them  should  be 
converted.  Many  who  listened  felt  the  appeal, 
and  the  total  number  of  converts  soon  amount- 
ed to  five  thousand. 

In  taking  this  course,  Peter  only  followed 
the  example  of  his  Lord,  who,  although  he 
"  knew  from  the  beginning  who  they  were  that 
believed  not,  and  who  should  betray  him" 
(John  vi.  64),  said  to  those  w^ho  had  not  the 
love  of  God  in  them,  and  who  would  not  go  to 
him  that  they  might  have  life,  "  These  things 
I  say,  that  ye  might  be  saved." 

Let  our  appeals  to  the  consciences  of  men 
be  equally  unfettered  ;  and  then,  and  not  till 
then,  we  shall  "  preach,  warning  every  man, 
and  teaching  every  man  in  all  wisdom,  that 
we  may  present  every  man  perfect  in  Christ 
Jesus."  (Col.  i.  28.)  Since  he  "  gave  himself 
a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due  time/* 
let  us,  in  proclaiming  that  testimony,  tell  the 
world  that  God  our  Savior  "  will  have  all  men 
to  be  saved  and  to  come  unto  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth."  If  ever  we  have  a  right  to  as- 
sume an  air  of  confidence,  it  is  when  we  are 
treading  in  the  footsteps  of  inspiration.  And 
where  can  these  be  plainer  ?    On  few  subjects, 


MODERN    MISAPPREHENSIONS.  93 

however,  are  the  notions  of  the  hearers  of  the 
gospel  so  perverse  and  contracted  as  they  are 
in  relation  to  the  grace  of  God.  Awakened 
sinners  often  ask,  with  intense  anxiety,  wheth- 
er they  have  a  right  to  do  that  which  God  has 
made  a  matter  of  solemn,  and  awful,  and  uni- 
versal obligation.  A  right  to  repent !  when 
God  has  commanded  "  all  men,  everywhere," 
to  do  it  ?  (Acts  xvii.  30.)  A  right  to  submit  to 
Christ !  when  God  has  sworn  that  to  him  ev- 
ery knee  shall  bow  ?  (Compare  Isa.  xlv.  21  ; 
John  V.  21 ;  Rom.  xiv.  11.)  A  right  to  believe 
the  gospel !  when  "  he  that  believeth  not  shall 
be  damned"  (Mark  xvi.  16),  and  is,  in  fact, 
"  condemned  already  ?"     (John  iii.  18.) 

It  would  seem  that  some  very  plain  things 
require  to  be  made  yet  plainer,  ere  the  world, 
ere  the  church  itself,  will  receive  them,  A  pure 
river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeds 
from  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb.  The 
Spirit  says,  "  Come."  Then  let  the  bride  say, 
"  Come."  Let  all  that  hear  say,  "  Come."  And 
then  he  that  is  athirst  shall  come,  and  whoso- 
ever will  shall  "  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

The  gracious  invitations  of  the  gospel  must 
be  made,  not  only  the  subject  of  pulpit  dis- 
course, but  of  social  converse.     The  disciples 


94  RELIGIOUS    CONVERSATION. 

of  Christ  must  daily  press  His  claims  on  the 
attention  of  all  within  their  reach.  The  dis- 
tinction between  the  church  and  the  world  will 
then  be  more  broEidly  drawn,  and  many  will  say, 
"  We  will  go  with  you,  for  God  is  with  you." 

Is  this  too  hard  a  service  to  be  required  at 
our  hands  ?  If  any  think  so,  let  them  ask 
whether,  when  from  the  time  they  ought  to  be 
teachers,  they  do  not  need  that  some  one  should 
teach  them  again  the  first  principles  of  the  or- 
acles of  God.  The  obligation  before  us  is  not 
peculiar  to  Christianity,  it  belonged  to  the  an- 
cient dispensation  :  "  These  words,  which  I 
command  thee  this  day,  shall  be  in  thy  heart, 
and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy 
children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou  sit- 
test  in  thine  house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by 
the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when 
thou  risest  up."  (Deut.  vi.  6,  7.)  Here  we 
have  a  clear  and  ample  direction  as  to  this 
important  duty.  The  grand  truths  of  religKm 
are  to  furnish  matter  for  our  lessons  to  the 
young,  for  our  social  converse,  for  our  general 
discourse,  and  for  our  private  meditation.  And 
the  force  of  this  precept,  so  far  from  havrng 
been  impaired  by  the  lapse  of  ages,  is  vastiy 
augmented      ''  God,  who  at  sundry  times,  and 


A    POSITIVE    DUTY.  95 

in  divers  manners,  spake  in  time  past  unto  the 
fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days 
spoken  to  us  by  his  Son"  (Heb.  i.  1,  2) ;  and 
"  this  is  the  message  which  we  have  heard  of 
him,"  —  "  that  God  is  light,  and  m  him  is  no 
darkness  at  all ;  but  if  we  walk  in  the  light,  as 
he  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with 
another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  The  dispensation 
of  types  and  shadows  has  given  place  to  "  a 
kingdom  which  cannot  be  moved."  We  have 
stores  of  information,  lessons  of  mstruction, 
facilities  of  labor,  and  motives  to  exertion,  such 
as  the  fathers  of  Israel  never  knew.  It  becomes, 
therefore,  the  paramount  duty  of  every  Christian 
to  obtain  and  to  diffuse  religious  information. 

The  grand  matters  of  faith  and  holiness  lie 
within  a  narrow  compass.  A  large  amount  of 
knowledge,  however  desirable  in  order  to  use- 
fulness, is  not  essential.  The  little  maid  who 
waited  on  Naaman's  wife,  was  probably  no  re- 
markable specimen  of  intelligence,  but  she  was 
able  to  say,  "  Would  God,  my  lord  were  with 
the  prophet  that  is  m  Samaria,  for  he  would 
recover  him  of  his  leprosy."  The  expression 
of  that  wish  led  to  its  fulfilment ;  Naamau  went 
to  Elisha  and  was  healed. 


96  QUALIFICATIONS. 

It  must,  however,  be  borne  in  mind,  that 
though  a  moderate  portion  of  knowledge  may- 
suffice,  wisdom  is  indispensable  ;  and  the  only- 
wisdom  which  will  answer  the  purpose,  is  that 
which  cometh  from  above,  and  "  is  first  pure, 
then  peaceable."  Worldly  policy  will  do  noth- 
ing here.  But  "if  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let 
him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  men  liber- 
ally, and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it  shall  be  given 
him."  And  in  no  case  can  we  implore  that 
blessing  with  so  much  confidence  of  divine 
approval,  or  with  such  certainty  of  success,  as 
when  we  ask  it  in  order  to  lead  sinners  to 
Christ. 

In  following  out  that  glorious  design,  differ- 
ent modes  of  treatment  must  be  adopted,  with 
different  persons,  and  on  different  occasions. 
To  pursue  the  same  plan  in  every  instance, 
would  be  absurd  and  even  ridiculous  ;  all  need 
the  same  salvation,  but  all  cannot  be  reached 
by  the  same  methods  of  address.  The  young, 
the  timid,  the  hopeful,  and  the  inquiring,  would 
be  disheartened  and  alarmed  by  that  which,  in 
the  case  of  the  careless,  the  hardened,  and  the 
profane,  would  approve  itself  as  the  most  ready, 
if  not  the  only  way,  of  securing  attention. 

Invaluable  opportunities  of  usefulness  often 


OPPORTUNITIES.  97 

occur  in  travelling,  and  Christians  should  study- 
to  turn  them  to  the  best  account.  On  such  oc- 
casions, general  remarks  on  religion  will  sel- 
dom do  much  good,  or  obtain  anything  in  reply 
beyond  Yes  or  No.  It  will  be  found  a  much 
better  plan  to  come  to  the  point  at  once  ;  and, 
although  addressing  a  perfect  stranger,  to  say, 
without  the  slightest  preface  or  apology,  "  Do 
you  care  anything  about  your  soul  ?"  "  Pray, 
what  are  your  views  of  religion  ?"  "  Do  you 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?"  "  Have  you  a 
good  hope  through  grace  ?"  The  very  abrupt- 
ness of  the  inquiry  will  awaken  attention,  and 
probably  elicit  a  reply  which  you  may  make 
the  text  of  your  observations  for  the  remainder 
of  a  long  journey.  If,  however,  you  wish  to 
accomplish  your  object,  you  must  speak  with 
firmness,  and  not  as  if  you  were  saying  some- 
thing of  which  you  were  half  ashamed.  Make 
the  inquiry  just  in  the  same  tone  and  manner 
as  you  would  say,  "  Have  you  heard  of  the 
dreadful  fire  last  night  ?"  —  "  Can  you  tell  me 
how  many  persons  were  burnt  to  death  ?" 

All  attempts  of  this  kind,  to  be  successful, 

must  be  put  forth  in  a  modest  and  affectionate 

manner.     Anything  which  would  seem  like 

saying,  "  Stand  by  thyself,  for  I  am  holier  thaa 

'  9 


98  METHODS. 

thou,"  would  do  more  harm  than  good ;  and 
we  had  better  hold  our  peace,  even  from  good 
things,  while  the  wicked  is  in  our  sight,  than 
thus  cause  our  good  to  "  be  evil-spoken  of ;" 
but  let  it  be  seen  that  we  really  aim  to  do  them 
good,  and  even  the  most  abandoned  will  usu- 
ally listen  to  what  we  have  to  say,  and  some- 
times express  a  feeling  of  gratitude.  It  is, 
however,  important  to  remark,  that  in  conver- 
sation with  strangers,  close  appeals  to  the  con- 
science should  never  be  attempted,  unless  we 
can  get  the  individual  alone.  Every  man  has 
a  character  of  some  sort  to  maintain,  if  it  be 
only  for  wickedness  ;  and  it  is  impossible,  by 
an  injudicious  attempt  at  reproof,  to  increase 
the  evil  which  we  deplore. 

One  very  important  matter  in  spiritual  hus- 
bandry is,  '*that  he  that  plougheth  should 
plough  in  hope."  (1  Cor.  ix.  10.)  A  bare  per- 
adventure  as  to  the  probability  of  success,  will 
go  but  little  way  toward  the  production  of  per- 
severing effort ;  but  let  us  steadfastly  depend  on 
the  declarations  of  God  concerning  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  his  truth,  and  then  difficulties 
will  vanish,  for  our  faith  will  remove  mountains 
and  cast  them  into  the  sea.  (Matt.  xxi.  21.) 
Our  rule  of  duty,  moreover,  will  be  taken,  not 


IMPULSES.  99 

from  appearances  or  impressions,  but  from  the 
lively  oracles  of  God.  "  He  that  observeth  the 
wind  shall  not  sow,  and  he  that  regardeth  the 
clouds  shall  not  reap."  (Eccl.  xi.  4.)  If  we 
wait  for  favorable  omens,  we  may  wait  till  our 
opportunity  of  improving  them  is  gone  for  ever. 
We  have  already  a  more  certain  word  of  di- 
rection than  our  own  unaided  sagacity  will 
ever  be  able  to  supply  —  "  In  the  morning  sow 
thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy 
hand,  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall  pros- 
per, either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both 
shall  be  alike  good." 

Hence  it  appears,  that  the  very  circum- 
stance which,  under  the  influence  of  morbid 
apprehensions,  would  induce  us  to  refrain  from 
labor,  when  rightly  regarded,  will  impel  us  to 
more  extended  effort,  that  disappointment  in 
one  quarter  may  be  counterbalanced  by  success 
in  another.  Occasional  failure  is  nothing  new ; 
it  has  mingled  with  the  most  auspicious  scenes  ; 
but  "  what  is  the  chaff  to  the  wheat  ?  saith  the 
Lord."  (Jer.  xxiii.  28.)  Judas  was  an  apos- 
tate, but  his  eleven  companions  endured  to  the 
end  ;  the  defection  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira 
threw  no  suspicion  over  the  triumphs  of  Pen- 
tecost ;  and  the  fatal  error  of  Simon,  the  ma- 


100  CLAIMS   OF    THE    YOUNG. 

gician,  placed  in  no  peril  the  commission  of 
Peter  and  John  to  bestow  the  Holy  Ghost. 
(Acts  viii.  14-24.) 

A  very  hopeful  department  of  Christian  labor 
is  with  the  young.  Wherever  we  go  we  should 
endeavor  to  say  something  to  them  which  will 
be  worth  remembering  when  we  are  dead.  A 
single  remark  may  direct  the  whole  course  of 
their  future  lives.  But  if  we  desire  to  do  them 
good,  our  observations  must  not  be  confined  to 
the  generalities  of  religion.  As  in  the  case 
of  elder  persons,  close  appeals  to  the  con- 
science and  the  heart  are  the  only  means  of 
producing  a  deep  and  lasting  impression  on 
their  minds.  The  claims  of  Christ  must  be 
pressed  on  their  immediate  attention,  and  we 
must  give  them  distinctly  to  understand  that 
their  characters  are  now  forming  for  eternity. 

A  monstrous  persuasion  is  abroad  in  the 
world,  and  is  current  in  the  church,  that  de- 
cision in  religion  belongs  exclusively  to  riper 
age  ;  an  opinion  which  has  been  the  ruin  of 
thousands.  Not  only  have  parents,  professedly 
Christian,  contented  themselves  while  seeing 
their  children  grow  up  around  them  in  utter 
carelessness  about  their  souls,  but  they  have 
even  sanctioned  in  them  the  dangerous  notion 


PARENTAL  NE0L70ENCE.  101 

that  the  question  of  personal  piety,  like  the 
choice  of  some  business  or  profession,  is  one 
which  belongs  to  a  future  day.  Meanwhile, 
the  unregeneracy  of  their  offspring,  so  far  from 
being  a  subject  of  deep  and  agonizing  solici- 
tude, has  scarcely  awakened  the  slightest 
anxiety.  But  though  they  have  slumbered, 
the  enemy  has  not  (Matt.  xiii.  25.)  The  con- 
sequence is,  that  the  ground  which  they  in- 
tended at  some  future  time  to  cultivate,  has 
been  pre-occupied,  and  the  seeds  of  licentious- 
ness and  infidelity  have  begun  to  bring  forth 
fruit  unto  death,  before  it  was  even  suspected 
that  they  had  been  sown. 

I  have  almost  been  led  to  question  whether 
some  parents  think  their  unconverted  children 
the  subjects  of  depravity.  More  than  once, 
when  I  was  beginning  to  make  an  impression 
on  the  heart  of  some  dear  child,  as  to  the 
necessity  of  loving  and  serving  God,  and  the 
enormity  of  refusing  or  neglecting  to  obey  him, 
have  I  been  interrupted  by  some  mistaken 
mother,  who  has  assured  me  that  her  child  is 
a  very  good  little  creature,  and  all  that  a 
parent  can  wish ;  and  that  mother  has  not 
been  a  gay  and  thoughtless  worldling,  from 
whom  such  an  observation  would  awaken  no 
9* 


102  EARLY  PIETY. 

surprise,  but  a  woman  professing  godliness, 
and  who,  years  hence  (should  she  live  to  see 
her  children  forsake  the  faith  of  their  fathers, 
and  plunge  into  fashionable  folly  and  dissipa- 
tion), will  think  it  a  most  mysterious  provi- 
dence, that  young  people,  so  carefully  trained 
and  so  religiously  educated,  should  be  alto- 
gether regardless  of  piety. 

Children  of  very  tender  age  are  susceptible 
not  only  of  deep  religious  impressions,  but  of 
decided  piety.  So  far  as  natural  capacity  is 
concerned,  where  the  one  may  be  found,  there 
may  the  other.  No  child  is  too  young  to  love 
the  Savior  of  the  world,  who  is  capable  of 
understanding  the  nature  of  his  claims  ;  it 
would  be  strange  indeed  were  it  otherwise. 
To  make  salvation  a  question  of  mere  intel- 
lectual endowment  would  ill  accord  with  the 
moral  perfections  of  God,  and  contradict  some 
of  the  plainest  declarations  of  holy  writ.  "  I 
thank  thee,  0  Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth !  that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wise  and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them 
unto  babes"  (Luke  x.  21),  was  the  language  of 
Christ ;  and,  as  if  to  end  all  doubt  on  the  sub- 
ject, he  farther  said,  "  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of 


SABBATH-SCHOOLS.  103 

such  is  the  kingdom  of  God."  (Mark  x.  14.) 
To  receive  one  such  little  child  in  his  name, 
and  from  the  lips  "  of  babes  and  sucklings" 
(Matt  xxi.  16),  to  hear  the  perfection  of  his 
praise,  is  bliss  which  they  who  are  wise  to  win 
souls  alone  can  know. 

To  many  who  have  few  other  opportunities 
of  doing  good,  the  sabbath-school  presents  an 
inviting  field  ;  it  may  be  so  cultivated  as  to 
repay  their  exertions :  yet,  notwithstanding 
all  the  good  which  such  institutions  have 
hitherto  accomplished,  as  a  whole  they  have 
been  a  failure.  Their  design,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, was  defective ;  it  was  mere  instruction  : 
the  conversion  of  the  children  was  not  regarded 
as  the  chief,  the  essential  thing,  without  which 
the  best  attainments  would  be  vain,  and  all  the 
labor  of  imparting  knowledge  be  thrown  away. 
In  many  cases  the  teachers  themselves  were  un- 
converted, and  with  them  the  routine  of  instruc- 
tion on  the  sabbath  was  as  much  a  matter  of  sec- 
ular employment  as  any  other  during  the  week. 

Another  radical  defect  was,  that  sabbath- 
schools  were  regarded  as  eleemosynary  insti- 
tutions, a  refuge  for  the  destitute.  Conducted 
on  such  a  plan,  they  have  generally  proved  a 
loss  of  time  and  a  waste  of  labor.     There  are 


104  SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 

localities,  undoubtedly,  where  a  sabbath-sckool 
must  of  necessity  be  a  charity-school,  but  such 
are  only  found  in  large  cities  and  pauperized 
neighborhoods.  There  can  be  no  excuse  for 
such  a  state  of  things  elsewhere. 

In  some  places  sabbath-schools  are  now 
becoming  what  they  ought  always  to  have 
been,  nurseries  for  "  the  household  of  faith." 
Where  this  is  the  case,  they  include  all  the 
children  belonging  to  the  congregation,  and  the 
teachers  are  some  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
devoted  members  of  the  church,  whose  grand 
and  exclusive  aim  is  the  salvation  of  every 
child  committed  to  their  care.  In  such  in 
stances  the  course  of  instruction  comprehends 
something  more  than  learning  to  read,  and 
committing  to  memory  portions  of  Scripture, 
catechisms,  hymns,  and  confessions  of  faith ; 
it  embraces  the  elements  of  sound  biblical  in- 
formation. The  higher  classes,  taking  the  word 
of  God  for  their  text-book,  are  led  at  once  to 
the  fountain  of  knowledge,  and,  under  suitable 
direction,  are  taught  to  search  the  Scriptures., 
whether  things  are  so.  (Acts  xvii.  11.) 

The  beneficial  influence  of  such  a  system, 
even  on  the  teachers  themselves,  is  incal- 
culable.    Unless  they  would  become  ridicu- 


BIBLE-CLASSES.  105 

!ous  in  the  eyes  of  their  pupils,  they  must 
thoroughly  examine  the  meaning  and  con- 
nexion of  every  passage  cited  in  the  lesson ; 
and  so,  the  habit  of  patient  research,  which, 
in  the  first  instance,  was  adopted  as  a  pre- 
cautionary measure  of  self-defence,  will  even 
before  they  are  aware  of  it,  make  them 
•"  mighty  in  the  Scriptures."  These,  there- 
fore are  methods  of  training  which,  in  the 
walks  of  private  life,  will  furnish  the  church  of 
God  with  its  brightest  ornaments  ;  men  sound 
in  the  faith,  "  in  doctrine  showing  uncorrupt- 
ness,"  holding  forth  the  word  of  life.  The 
vagaries  of  religious  opinion  to  which  super- 
ficial inquirers  are  commonly  exposed,  will 
present  no  temptations  to  persons  whose  faith, 
thus  grounded  and  settled,  is  no  longer  the 
sport  of"  every  wind  of  doctrine."  (Eph.  iv.  14.) 
Never  shall  we  have  such  a  revival  of 
religion  as  the  case  requires,  until  all  the  de- 
partments of  labor  which  I  have  specified, 
and  others  which  ray  limits  will  not  allow  me 
to  mention,  are  thoroughly  and  conscientiously 
filled.  Every  Christian  must  feel  his  own 
responsibility,  and  make  it  one  subject  of  his 
morning  prayer  that  God  would  give  him 
wisdom  to  win  souls  ;    and  when  he  retires  to 


106  THOROUGH  CONSEjCRATION. 

his  closet  in  the  evening,  he  must  be  able, 
with  a  clear  conscience  and  steadfast  faith,  ta 
implore  a  blessing  on  the  fresh  labors  which 
he  has  put  forth  on  that  behalf.  When  Zion 
puts  on  her  strength,  her  sons  will  never  dare 
to  sleep  over  their  unprofitableness.  A  Chris- 
tian in  vigorous  health,  or  able  to  attend  to 
his  usual  avocations,  retiring  to  rest  without 
having  made  some  distinct  endeavor  to  save 
souls  from  death,  will  be  disturbed  in  his 
dreams  by  the  cries  and  groans  of  those  who 
"  are  ready  to  be  slain/'  and  rising  from  his  un- 
refreshing  slumbers,  will  earnestly  pray  that  he 
may  never  again  so  forget  his  sacred  obligation, 
before  he  lies  down  on  that  bed  from  which 
he  shall  not  rise  till  the  heavens  be  no  more. 

Devoted,  personal,  and  unremitting  effort, 
on  the  part  of  the  whole  body  of  the  faithful, 
would  bring  down  such  a  blessing  that  there 
would  be  no  room  to  contain  it ;  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  solitary  place  would  be  glad,  and 
the  desert  would  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose  ;  churches  and  pastors  would  be  doubled 
and  quadrupled  ;  repeated  success  would  em- 
bolden the  timid  and  encourage  the  desponding, 
and  each  new  convert  would  immediately  be- 
come a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the  great  cause 


AGGRESSIVE    PIETY.  107 

of  truth  and  holiness.  "  What  are  you  doing 
for  Christ  ?"  would  no  longer  be  a  question 
answered  only  by  a  blush,  or  a  sigh,  or  by 
silence  more  ominous  than  either,  but  it  would 
meet  with  a  ready  response  from  a  cloud  of 
witnesses  to  whom  the  honored  individual 
would  refer  as  his  joy  and  crown  of  rejoicing. 
When  prosperity  dawns  on  the  church,  con- 
verts will  resemble  in  number,  as  well  as  in 
purity,  the  dew-drops  of  the  morning  (Psa. 
ex.  3.)  "Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud, 
and  as  the  doves  to  their  windows  ?"  (Isa.  Ix. 
8.)  But  when  "  a  little  one  shall  become  a 
thousand,  and  a  small  one  a  strong  nation" 
(verse  22),  to  be  regarded  by  none  as  their 
fathers  in  Christ  (1  Cor.  iv.  15),  will  be  thought 
a  far  greater  calamity  than,  in  the  Hebrew 
commonwealth,  it  was  reckoned  to  die  child- 
less. Children  in  the  faith  are  the  highest 
prize  imaginable  short  of  a  heavenly  crown  : 
"  Happy  is  the  man  that  hath  his  quiver  full  of 
them  ;  they  shall  not  be  ashamed,  but  they 
shall  speak  with  the  enemies  in  the  gate."  In 
such  hands  he  may  safely  leave  his  reputation 
while  living,  and  his  memory  when  dead. 
Not  even  a  tombstone  may  mark  the  spot 
where  he  lies,  "  but  the  righteous  shall  be  in 


108  CRUELTY  OF  CONCEALING 

everlasting  remembrance"'  (Psa.  cxii.  6) ;  and 
when  the  proudest  monuments  of  fame  are 
blended  in  one  common  ruin,  and  the  brightest 
lights  of  science  are  all  gone  out,  they  "  that 
are  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righ- 
teousness, as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever." 

But  though  the  grand  reward  of  faithfulness 
to  the  claims  of  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men  is 
secured  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just,  it  often 
happens  that  "  hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart 
sick"  (Prov.  xiii.  12).  It  is  therefore  very  im- 
portant that  those  who  watch  for  souls  should 
be  informed  of  every  instance  in  which  their 
labors  have  been  successful.  This  is  but  an 
act  of  justice,  a  tribute  of  honesty  as  well  as  of 
gratitude.  The  woman  who  came  in  the  press 
to  our  Lord,  and  touched  the  border  of  his  gar- 
ment, was  not  suffered  to  depart  without  ac- 
knowledging her  obligation.  He  admired  her 
faith,  but  not  her  silence  ;  and  to  reprove  her 
attempt  at  concealment,  he  made  her  declare 
before  all  the  people  for  what  cause  she  had 
touched  him,  and  how  she  was  healed  imme- 
diately (Luke  viii.  47).  This  incident  is  full 
of  instruction,  and  ministers  reproof  to  many 
who  have  received  blessings  by  stealth,  and 


SPIRITUAL    BENEFIT.  109 

have  never  had  the  honesty  to  acknowledge 
on  earth  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  they  will 
remember  in  heaven. 

On  this  subject  I  can  write  most  feelingly. 
.There  have  been  seasons  in  which  I  have  felt 
all  the  depression  of  laboring  in  vain,  when, 
had  I  been  told  of  instances  of  ministerial 
success  which  afterward  came  to  my  knowl- 
edge, I  should  have  thanked  Grod  and  taken 
courage  :  and  that  which  has  happened  to  me 
has  happened  to  others.  Few  Christians  seem 
to  account  it  a  matter  of  sacred  obligation  to 
inform  those  whom  God  has  honored  with 
the  instrumentality  of  their  conversion  of  that 
circumstance,  although  they  would  be  more 
delighted  at  such  intelligence  than  they  would 
be  with  "  thousands  of  gold  and  silver." 

It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  many 
devoted  servants  of  Christ  have  gone  down  to 
the  grave  with  a  broken  heart,  because  they 
were  never  informed  of  the  real  extent  of  their 
success  ;  and  the  injury  inflicted  on  them  waa 
as  nothing  in  comparison  with  its  results  as  to 
others.  It  seems  impossible  to  hear  of  th« 
conversion  of  sinners  through  our  labors^ 
without  feeling  encouraged  to  labor  more 
abundantly :  it  is  therefore  not  too  much  to 
10 


110  NATURE  AND  LIMITATION 

affirm  that  had  some  of  the  servants  of  Christ 
known  all  the  occasions  of  thanksgiving  which 
ought  to  have  come  to  their  knowledge,  their 
success  would  have  been  greater,  and  their 
occasions  of  thanksgiving  more  abundant.  The 
conversion  of  one  sinner  would  have  led  them 
to  attempt  the  conversion  of  another,  until  life 
itself  would  have  become  one  unbroken  series 
of  devoted  and  successful  labor. 

While  concealment  of  spiritual  benefit  is,  on 
the  part  of  some  the  result  of  timidity  or 
thoughtlessness,  with  others  it  arises  from 
design ;  and  in  its  defence  they  allege  an 
apprehension  of  giving  that  glory  to  man  which 
ought  to  be  rendered  to  God.  This  is  another 
instance  in  which  perplexities  never  felt  in 
common  life  are  associated  with  religion.  We 
surely  do  not  the  less  feel  our  obligation  to 
God  for  the  preservation  of  our  lives,  because 
we  reward  the  watchman  who  awakened  us 
•when  we  were  sleeping  among  the  flames.  Who 
sent  him  to  our  rescue  ?  How  was  it  that  we 
heard  the  warning?  Whence  came  the  strength, 
the  self-possession,  and  the  promptitude,  which 
secured  our  escape  ?  Solomon  has  supplied  an 
answer :  "  Safety  is  of  the  Lord'^Prov.  xxi.31). 

"  By  grace  are  ye  saved,  through  faith  ;  and 


OF  HUMAN  agency'.  Ill 

that  not  of  yourselves  :  it  is  the  gift  of  God ; 
not  of  works,  lest  any  man  should  boast.  For 
we  are  his  workmanship,  created  in  Christ  Je- 
sus unto  good  works,which  God  hath  before  or- 
dained that  we  should  walk  in  them"  (Eph.  ii. 
8-10).  This  is  the  grand  doctrine  which  em- 
braces, and  combines,  and  harmonizes,  every 
other,  throughout  the  whole  range  of  divine 
revelation.  Nevertheless,  by  agencies  the  most 
diverse  "  worketh  that  one  and  the  self-same 
Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he 
will"  (1  Cor.  xii.  11).  Hence  we  become 
"  fellow-workers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God" 
(Col.  iv.  11),  and  are  even  required  to  work  out 
our  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  for 
it  is  God  which  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and 
to  do  of  his  good  pleasure  (Phil.  ii.  12,  13). 
On  these  grounds  Paul  felt  no  hesitation  ia 
exhorting  Timothy  to  save  both  himself  and 
them  that  heard  him  (1  Tim.  iv.  16).  The  ad- 
monition was  enforced  by  his  own  example. 
He  was  made  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he 
might  by  all  means  save  some  (1  Cor.  ix.  22). 
Should  it  be  contended  that  obedience  to 
Christ  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  motive  to  perse- 
vering exertion,  apart  from  all  further  encour- 
agement, it  is  enough  to  reply,  that  one  who 


112  SUBORDINATE  SOURCES 

was  "  in  labors  more  abundant"  (2  Cor.  xi.  23), 
and  who  counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself 
80  that  he  might  finish  his  course  with  joy, 
and  the  ministry  which  he  had  received  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  (Acts  xx.  24),  was  not  unaccustom- 
ed to  look  to  his  hearers  for  fruit  which  might 
abound  to  their  account  (Phil.  iv.  17).  He 
rejoiced,  even  when  Christ  was  preached  of 
envy  and  strife,  by  some  who  wished  to  add 
affliction  to  his  bonds  (chap.  i.  15,  16,  18);  but 
his  tenderest  sympathies  were  directed  to  those 
who  were  the  immediate  fruit  of  his  labors. 
"As  my  beloved  sons  I  warn  you.  For 
though  ye  have  ten  thousand  instructers  in 
Christ,  yet  have  ye  not  many  fathers  ;  for  in 
Christ  Jesus  I  have  begotten  you  through  the 
gospel"  (1  Cor.  iv.  14,  15).  And  the  affection 
which  he  cherished  toward  these  Corinthians 
was  the  invariable  feeling  of  his  heart,  in  re- 
lation to  all  his  children  in  the  faith.  Witness 
his  appeal  to  Philemon,  on  behalf  of  a  runaway 
slave :  "  I  beseech  thee,  for  my  son  Onesimus 
whom  I  have  begotten  in  my  bonds.  If  thou 
count  me  therefore  a  partner,  receive  him  as 
myself.  If  he  hath  wronged  thee,  or  oweth 
thee  aught,  put  that  on  mine  account ;  I  Paul 
have  written  it  with  mine  own  hand,  I   will 


OF  DELIGHT  AND    ENCOURAGEMENT.        113 

repay  it :  albeit  I  do  not  say  to  thee  how  thou 
owest  unto  me  even  thine  own  self  beside." 
(Phil.  10,  17-19.)  Only  those  whom  God  has 
extensively  honored  with  the  conversion  of 
souls,  can  comprehend  the  fulness  of  confi- 
dence, or  the  intensity  of  affection,  which 
breathes  in  this  one  short  sentence,  "  For  now 
we  live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord." 

But  whatever  may  be  our  subordinate  sour- 
ces of  delight  and  encouragement,  the  secret 
of  "  patient  continuance  in  well  doing"  can  on- 
ly be  learned  iii  the  closet.  Persevering  prayer 
will  lead  to  persevering  effort,  and  our  best 
sympathies  will  be  those  which  bring  us  into 
closer  fellowship  with  Him  whom  we  serve. 
Perpetual  intercourse  with  the  King  whose 
garments  smell  of  myrrh,  and  aloes,  and  cas- 
sia, out  of  the  ivory  palaces  whereby  they  have 
made  him  glad  (Psa.  xlv.  8),  will  enable  us  to 
say,  "  Thanks  be  unto  God,  which  always 
causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ,  and  maketh 
manifest  the  savor  of  his  knowledge  by  us  in 
every  place."  (2  Cor.  ii.  14.)  Wherever  we 
go,  the  fragrance  of  heaven  will  rest  on  our 
footsteps,  and  the  true  odor  of  sanctity  evince 
that  we  have  been  with  Jesus.  Our  only  apol- 
ogy for  zeal  which  the  world  will  reckon  im- 
10* 


114  GODLY    SINCERITY. 

pertinent,  and  resist  as  obtrusive,  will  be  that 
of  Peter  and  John  to  the  rulers,  and  elders, 
and  scribes  :  "  We  cannot  but  speak  the  things 
which  we  have  seen  and  heard."  (Acts  iv.  20.) 
To  live  "  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible" 
(Heb.  xi.  27),  is  the  grand  attainment  with 
which  no  other  will  bear  comparison.  What- 
ever may  be  our  qualifications  for  usefulness, 
if  this  be  lacking,  they  will  all  be  vain.  We 
may  enforce  the  claims  of  God,  of  Christ,  of  the 
soul,  of  eternity,  "  with  the  tongues  of  men  and 
angels  ;"  but  in  the  absence  of  overwhelming 
views  of  Him  whom  no  eye  hath  seen,  all  will 
be  but  "  as  sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cym- 
bal." The  man  of  taste  may  praise  our  elo- 
quence, and  the  careless  sinner  perhaps  be 
startled  by  our  fervid  declamation  ;  but  both 
will  despise  our  hypocrisy,  and  well  they  may. 
Such  themes  as  redeeming  love,  and  immortal 
life,  ill  befit  the  stage,  and  the  man  who  is 
merely  an  actor  had  better  let  them  alone.  To 
pretend  to  that  compassion  which  we  do  not 
feel,  and  that  fervor  which  we  do  not  possess, 
will  only  be  to  expose  ourselves  to  merited 
contempt.  The  world  will  mock  our  preten- 
sions, God  will  reject  our  services,  and  Satan 
himself  will  say,  "  Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I 
know,  but  who  are  ye  ?"    (Acts  xix.  15.) 


CHARGE    OF    ENTHUSIASM.  116 

Let  US  but  convince  the  ungodly  that  facts, 
solemn  and  awful,  but  unquestionable  facts, 
have  awakened  our  emotions,  and  the  most 
careless  and  most  hardened  will  cease  to  blame 
us  for  being  in  earnest.  The  true  reason  why 
the  world  ever  charges  the  church  with  enthu- 
siasm, is  latent  infidelity.  The  facts  are  dis- 
believed, and  therefore  the  emotions  awakened 
by  those  facts  are  treated  as  weaknesses  or 
hallucinations.  In  no  other  way  is  it  possible 
to  account  for  the  morbid  sensitiveness  which  is 
so  common,  as  to  powerful  religious  affections. 
No  one  would  censure,  for  the  intensity  of  his 
emotions,  the  man  whose  house  is  in  flames, 
and  who  is  watching  the  operations  of  the  fire- 
brigade  while  they  are  attempting  to  reach  the 
windows  where  his  wife  and  children  are  im- 
ploring help,  and  expecting  that  each  minute 
of  delay  will  be  fatal.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, no  amount  of  feeling,  no  violence  of 
gesture,  would  be  thought  extravagant.  But 
let  a  Christian,  who  is  a  husband,  or  a  parent, 
be  deeply  moved  because,  notwithstanding  all 
the  efforts  which  are  made  for  their  benefit, 
the  members  of  his  household  show  no  signs 
of  conversion  ;  and  wherefore  is  he  regarded 
as  an  enthusiast  ?     Because  the  world  disbe- 


116  REPLY  TO    THE    CHARGE 

lieves  the  threatenings  of  God,  and  therefore 
heeds  not  "  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire 
and  brimstone."     (Rev.  xxi.  8.) 

The  same  skepticism  which  frowns  on  com- 
passion for  the  impenitent,  also  scowls  on  the 
joy  and  peace  in  believing  which  are  the  birth- 
right of  the  regenerate.  A  little  worldly  pros- 
perity is  expected  to  make  a  man  very  happy, 
and  no  one  wonders  at  the  satisfaction  which 
accompanies  the  resolution,  "  I  will  pull  down 
my  barns  and  build  greater,  and  there  will  I 
bestow  all  my  fruits  and  my  goods  ;  and  I  will 
say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods 
laid  up  for  many  years  ;  take  thine  ease,  eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry."  (Luke  xii.  18,  19.)  I 
remember  an  instance  in  which  sudden  pros- 
perity was  followed  by  even  fatal  effects.  An 
industrious  couple  were  at  the  same  time  seized 
with  a  malignant  fever.  They  were  placed  in 
separate  rooms,  but  within  hearing  of  each 
other.  Their  mutual  inquiries  were  almost 
incessant,  till  delirium  in  both  ended  all  anxi- 
ety. The  husband  died  and  was  buried  while 
the  wife  was  in  a  state  of  utter  unconscious- 
ness. When  she  began  to  recover  her  reason, 
the  first  indication  of  its  return  was  the  affec- 
tionate inquiry,  "  My  dear !  my  love  !  are  you 


OF    RELIGIOUS    ENTHUSIASM.  117 

better  ?"  But  there  was  no  voice,  neither  any 
that  regarded.  She  became  alarmed.  To  keep 
her  quiet,  the  nurse  wickedly  told  her  that  her 
husband  was  better,  but  that  the  doctor  had 
sent  him  away  for  change  of  air.  This  false- 
hood satisfied  her  for  several  days,  and  then 
she  awoke  to  the  overwhelming  consciousness 
of  her  bereavement,  and  found  herself  the  wid- 
owed mother  of  five  children,  with  little  pros- 
pect of  anything  but  the  workhouse.  The  staff 
of  the  family  was  gone.  She  was,  however,  a 
woman  of  spirit,  and  she  roused  herself  to  ex- 
ertion. Early  and  late  she  toiled  to  keep  to- 
gether the  little  business  that  remained,  and  in 
part  she  succeeded.  It  was  a  hard  struggle  ; 
but  still,  by  diligence  and  frugality,  she  kept 
herself  and  her  babes  from  pauperism.  Thus 
things  continued,  till  one  morning  the  postman 
brought  her  a  letter  from  the  executors  of  an 
old  gentleman  (a  distant  relation  to  her  late 
husband,  but  of  whom  she  had  never  heard, 
and  from  whom,  of  course,  she  had  no  expecta- 
tions), informing  her  of  his  death,  and  that  he 
had  left  her  eight  hundred  pounds.  This  sud- 
den reverse  of  fortune  was  too  much  for  her  to 
bear ;  for  a  whole  fortnight  she  never  closed 
her  eyes,  and  then  she  died.     Her  death  was 


118  REPLY    TO    THE    CHARGE 

universally  attributed  to  excessive  joy ;  and 
though  many  lamented  it  for  the  sake  of  her 
children,  none  seemed  to  think  it  strange  — 
certainly  not  one  v^as  heard  to  remark  on  the 
evils  of  property,  or  found  to  opine  that  an 
unexpected  legacy  is  a  very  dangerous  thing. 
Now,  suppose  that,  instead  of  being  in  strait- 
ened circumstances,  she  had  been  under  deep 
anxiety  about  her  soul,  and  that,  instead  of 
being  informed  of  a  legacy  of  eight  hundred 
pounds,  she  had  obtained  an  assurance  of  her 
acceptance  with  God,  and  that,  in  consequence 
of  such  assurance,  }oy  had  kept  her  awake  for 
a  fortnight,  at  the  end  of  which  she  died  ;  — 
what  would  the  world  have  said  then '  How 
rife  would  have  been  the  imputations  of  ex- 
travagance and  fanaticism  !  And  why  would 
the  censure,  withholden  in  the  one  case,  be 
awarded  in  the  other  ?  Simply  because,  in  the 
first  instance  the  facts  are  admitted,  and  in  the 
second  they  are  disbelieved.  And  such,  in 
truth,  amid  all  the  reverence  which  they  pre- 
tend to  pay  to  religion,  is  the  infidelity  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  unconverted. 

But  while  "he  that  believeth  not  is  con- 
demned already,  because  he  hath  not  believed 
in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God," 


OP   RELIGIOUS    ENTHUSIASM.  119 

those  who  are  exempted  from  that  condemna- 
tion must  show  their  faith  by  their  works. 
Their  holy  zeal  must  prove  their  godly  sincer- 
ity, and  convince  the  world  that  the  Christian 
faith  is  not  a  matter  of  opinion,  or  speculation, 
or  conjecture,  but  of  plain,  demonstrable  truth, 
of  which  they  are  quite  as  certain  as  of  their 
own  existence. 

Till  self-denial  ceases  to  be  so  accounted, 
and  personal  sacrifices  are  thought  unworthy 
of  that  name,  the  world  will  continue  to  disbe- 
lieve our  creed,  and  mock  our  exertions.  In 
vain  shall  we  preach  that  the  ways  of  wisdom 
are  pleasantness,  and  that  her  paths  are  peace, 
while  we  ourselves  account  the  service  of  God 
a  weariness.  Our  whole  character  must  bear 
out  our  testimony.  Risen  with  Christ,  we  must 
seek  the  things  which  are  above  ;  and  while 
we  ofl'er  to  conduct  men  to  brighter  worlds,  we 
must  lead  the  way.  Our  families  will  then  be- 
come nurseries  for  the  church,  and  the  church 
a  nursery  for  heaven.  Our  general  intercourse 
will  constantly  bear  on  the  salvation  of  souls,  and 
the  pleasure  of  God  will  prosper  in  our  hands. 

But  whether  we  will  do  the  work  or  not,  it 
must  be  done.  The  world  is  to  be  converted  to 
Christ,  and  sooner  or  later  the  required  agency 


120  CONCLUSION. 

will  be  foimd.  Brethren,  it  remains  for  us  to 
say  whether  we  will  lead  the  onward  movement, 
or  be  trodden  down  by  its  pressure  ;  whether 
we  will  impart  a  new  character  of  fidelity  to  the 
rising  age,  or  content  ourselves  with  the  selfish 
piety  which  has  so  long  been  current  in  the 
church,  until  the  merciful  providence  of  God, 
in  pity  to  the  next  generation,  shall  thrust  us 
aside  to  make  room  for  men  of  firmer  mould. 

Yet  why  should  our  firmness,  our  zeal,  or 
our  piety,  be  inferior  to  theirs  ?  Will  the  men 
of  any  age  owe  more  to  redeeming  love  than 
we,  or  have  more  powerful  reasons  for  setting 
forth  the  great  salvation  ?  Have  we  feelings  ? 
So  will  they.  Have  we  infirmities  ?  So  will 
they.  Can  we  find  excuses  1  So  might  they. 
There  will  be  no  motive  for  them  which  is  not 
available  now  ;  no  promise  for  them  which  may 
not  be  pleaded  now ;  no  aid  for  them  which 
may  not  be  granted  now ;  and  no  success  for 
them  which  may  not  be  expected  now.  "  There- 
fore, my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  steadfast,  un- 
moveable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your  labor  18 
not  in  vam  in  the  Lord."    (1  Cor.  xv.  58.) 


